“THE CARBON VALLEY: The Glacial Valley as a Carbon Infrastructure” by Sasha Amaya, Lisa Biermann, Adi Cohen, Yagmur Durak, Liujun Chen, Anna Markušina, Jonas Möller, Azada Taheri
In this project we grapple with confronting the goal of carbon neutrality in the Berlin Brandenburg region (hereafter BB) by 2040. In doing so, we focus our attention on the glacial valley as a site of intense carbon interactions, and work toward a contrast scenario framework, which envisions a two-decade long radical transformation of our material and contextual surrounds. We ask ourselves: How might the metabolisms of forests and those of the urban interact in 2040? Can a circular carbon cycle be designed in our region? And, if so, which stakeholders might it affect, and how might such a shift look and feel?
Our method is comprised of four main steps.
We forecast from current trends to understand the vulnerabilities and potential crises in the region, as well as demographic, political, and climaterelated trends.
Second, we then — in the framework of creating a contrast scenario — imagine a strikingly different future than current forecasts would portend.
Third, we take the conditions of our 2040 speculation seriously, and backcast to understand what kind of changes we need to enact, and under which principles we need to work, in order to reach our goal. Fourth, applying these principles, we create design proposals for three specific sites which allow us to investigate the depth and complexity of the region, and suggest ways to move toward our vision of BB 2040.
