Eden: The last privileged paradise
Advanced Digital Imaging Final Project
Instructor: Kathleen Ruiz
Student: Shi Zhang
The inspiration of this final project comes from varies reference. As a fifth-year architecture student, my final project is highly influenced by my architecture final thesis. Given the assumption of a future world where all resource are depleted and human civilization struggling on dying infrastructure and waste produced by previous human society, stratification of architecture corresponds to stratification of society.
Conceptual Section of Wasteland and Eden
Nature no longer exist. A new concept of nature arises as mechanical components and projection maintains the form of nature. The artificial part, especially the production of energy and material would be concealed by the projection of wasteland, which indicates the top surface of low class. The overcrowded rusty city take reference from Tsutomu Nihei’s “Blame!”, a comic that describes the uncontrolled futuristic massive city that consumes the entire planet and consist of countless layers and infrastructures.
Uncontrolled city blocks in Tsutomu Nihei’s “Blame!”
Overcrowded underground city and infrastructure for low class
The Eden, taking the reference from Book of Genesis, represents a privileged garden lifted above the wasteland. The high-tech tower structure makes these towers as “habitations for gods”. A gigantic transparent shell would isolate the Eden from the toxic environment. Beautiful city projection would be projected to the transparent shell to make residents in Eden feels like being surrounded by elegant and scenery green city.
Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych
High-rise Tower occupied by elites
The contrast of two social groups: the privileges and the low class, occupy different physical habitations. The Eden, as a result of social stratification in a world where resource is depleted and environment is toxic, represents dual meanings: On the one hand, it indicates the pleasure of high class and elites built upon the suffering of low class; On the other hand, the social order still functions even if the world is physically different from nowadays’ world —— the production of the majority would be tributes to the minority.
Digital Model of Eden: The last privileged paradise
