This thesis thus argues that the conventional glasshouse has died…, but only to be reborn again as a digital entity: The Glasshouse as a Medium. The glasshouse has transformed from a building type that provided nutrients to the plants, to a simulated Garden of Eden which carries information between its different climatic zones and its various instruments.
Inside the contemporary Dutch Glasshouse, one finds an interior world with an elusive character: besides the growth of those little—seemingly insignificant—plants, few traces of the conventional glasshouse and nature itself are left: coordinated robotic arms and conveyor belts are reminiscent of a factory; artificial lighting, sensors, and cameras reminders of a theatrical stage; white coats and transparent experimental flasks evoke a laboratory. Whereas in the past the role of architecture was crucial in providing the necessary growth condition for the plants—using the materiality of the glass to trap heat and carbon dioxide inside while letting light pass through; now, there has been a reassignment of responsibilities from architecture to the artificially intelligent machines.
This thesis thus argues that the conventional glasshouse has died…, but only to be reborn again as a digital entity: The Glasshouse as a Medium. The glasshouse has transformed from a building type that provided nutrients to the plants, to a simulated Garden of Eden which carries information between its different climatic zones and its various instruments. A medium that operates partly inside the body of the old glasshouse and partly inside the clouds. Yet, while we still struggle to understand the implications of such a medium, the companies that specialise in providing its cutting-edge technology, are giving us a favourable hint: they are using their situated horticultural knowledge to expand their market and reach out to other architectural typologies (hotels, office spaces…). The quest of the research thus, is to examine the glasshouse as a medium which interchanges information: first, between plants, humans, machines, and architecture; second, between different scales—from the tools to the landscape; and third, between different architectural typologies—from non-human growth sites to human dwellings.
If the interchangeability of parts set in motion the industrial revolution, this thesis argues that the interchangeability of data is setting in motion the new digital age. Hence, by investigating the transformation of nineteenth century building type into a twenty-first century medium, this research will provide new grounded insights to the theory of architecture in the digital age.
Duration of the project: 4 years
PhD researcher: Gent Shehu
Promotor and co-promotor: Georg Vrachliotis, Víctor Muñoz Sanz
