The Biopolitics of Jade Eco Park and Hormonorium Installation
This essay by Maria Sheherazade Giudici, is a part of the collection of essays in the book Landscape and Agency Critical Essays.
The Concept
“Biopolitics is about micromanaging life, starting with the body” (Giudici 65)
“Arcadia is the promise of a peaceful coexistence of man and nature ─ first and foremost an ideological lie: any peace can only be a truce of which man is the temporary winner.” (Giudici 65)"
Jade Eco Park
"On a 70-ha area that formerly hosted an airstrip, the designers imagined a se1quence of spaces that vary from dry to humid, from warmer to cooler, from more exposed to more protected from urban pollution.These atmospheric conditions are achieved with a mixture of natural and technological elements; on the one hand, the project presupposes a careful reading of the conditions of the existing site such as wind, topography and tree species, and on the other hand it enhances and corrects these conditions with devices that further cool or dehumidify the air. (Giudici 67).
“If it is true that the Jade Eco Park deals with the body, the most ‘natural’ part of us, it also subtly undermines the very meaning of nature as the whole system is in fact scripted and achieved through the use of technical devices” (Giudici 71).
Hormonorium
“…the condition of a sunny alpine day was recreated not visually, but through the deployment of a series of physiological strategies that would make the visitors feel as if s/he were standing on a mountain at 300m altitude.The actual architectural composition was extremely simple, and not visually reminiscent of a natural site ─ in fact, it was just a white room with a glowing platform at its centre.” (Giudici 68).
The level of oxygen was lowered from 21% to 14.5%, and the light came from a white acrylic that reproduced the condition of reflected light one would experience if walking on snow.” (Giudici 68).
The agency of a visitor is completely taken away in spaces like Jade Eco Park and the Hormonorium Installation. Puppeting the physiological and neurological responses of unknowing people is invasive and overall dystopian. While I understand that the responses are "natural", it does not mean that the manipulation is morally just.
While I am strongly opposed to projects like this, a more nuanced conversation can be had about the ethics of influencing behavior for the greater good. I believe that manipulation is not the way to make change and it makes me uneasy to open up the opportunity for "positive" influencing the public because people hold many different perspectives of what is beneficial to society. However, I can understand how enticing it is when you have a strong conviction for change and getting people to listen is your biggest obstacle.
References
Waterman, T., & Wall, E. (2018). Landscape and Agency Critical Essays. Taylor & Francis Group.
