> Committed to tomorrow.
FUELED is a design and research incubator focusing on architecture and design of urban landscapes while linking academic initiatives to students, professionals, and communities.
Committed to tomorrow, FUELED designs progressive concepts on the scale of architecture, cities, and landscapes to comprehensively build upon existing assets of (urban) environments, to define challenges, and to develop strategies for an ecological and inclusive future.
OSWALD JENEWEIN
Director, FUELED
Assistant Professor in Architecture
for Ecological Environments + Digital Design
College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs
The University of Texas at Arlington
TERRITORY >
GULF OF MEXICO
The Texas Coast is a symbol of the Industrial Age: on the one hand largely undeveloped and sparsely populated, on the other hand an icon of oil-based cities depending on the economic power of the fossil fuel industry and tourism. The drilling-oriented industry along the shore has shaped the coastal environments ever since the mid-19th century. The coastline has been altered to allow for heavy industry and major seaports. The economic success of many cities directly relies on the resource-based industrial production.
While the impacts of climate-change on the Gulf have become more visible in the past two decades, human-based destruction of fauna and flora off- and on-shore has caused severe damage to the natural and built environment. The following projects address the future of urban landscapes along the Texas Coast. The research and design projects are based on typological studies, aiming to define and design solutions for future (urban) developments within the discipline of architecture. This disciplinary approach is informed by and connected to community outreach projects and interdisciplinary collaboration within and beyond the academic world.
TERRITORY >
THE ALPS
The Alps have historically been a territory of trade and access, of resource-based wealth, and of strategic geographic location. In the age of climate crisis, fragile ecologies like the alpine region are on the forefront of suffering the consequences of global warming. The role of the Alps as the water tower of central and south Europe has become even more significant as glaciers are melting rapidly.
The case study territory, the Alps, is investigated through an ecological lens, focusing on its role as a geopolitical territory. As complex logistical systems have started to shape the natural and built environment, transit within but especially through the Alps causes air pollution.
The following projects focus on the (historic) developments, which have served as a premise for settlement of the central alpine region.
The goal is to develop a series of territorial strategies and to tell a coherent narrative on the physical formation of land(scape), settlements, and architecture within and beyond the settled fields of the Alps.
TEAM
This interdisciplinary group of architects, landscape architects, and urban planners, aims to identify strategies for a resilient future development of Corpus Christi, focusing on downtown.
The team is developing projects based on community visioning events, engaging with public and private stakeholders in the city. The major goal is to develop projects within and around Corpus Christi which highlight the relationship between the challenges and opportunities of oil and water in coastal environments.
FUNDING
The team was awarded a “Water and Human Settlements Grant” by the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs at UT Arlington in collaboration with the UNESCO Water Initiative.
The final project outcome will be exhibited in the 2020 Venice Biennale, an international architecture exhibition with over 600,000 visitors.
METHODS
Community visioning as a method for defining and identifying a community’s assets and determining a desired future is an integral part of the project. It is important to gather first-hand knowledge from the local community.
The community events aim to discuss four major topics with stakeholders. After introducing the research team and the topic, each stakeholder will be invited to briefly introduce him or herself. In break-out sessions, all participants will get the opportunity to participate in each session topic. Information will be gathered, structured, and will then be made available to the public.
