Marius Leqi Pfennigdorff and Wei Hsiang Weng

Wind Bridge is an ongoing experiment that was held at two different locations in West Kensington, London between October 2020 - June 2021.

In order to create an environment that is more focused on cohabitation we have come up with a methodology we call tunnelling or bridging. This methodology functions as a mediator, crossing, blurring, and uniting human-divided environments, and creates an experience to re-evaluate our current mindset.

We first chose our homes (Kensington, London) as a starting point for a series of experiments. This resulted in a non permeant tunnel system, made out of bio-plastic sheets, which runs through an entire flat. By giving away part of our property, we have created a paradox that dismantles the clear separation between «inside» and «outside» and transformed part of human design space into a traversal / liminal space for natural migration (used by airborne species). 

Wind Brige challenges the individual who encounters it to think differently about property as a human concept of ownership. After setup, the tunnel becomes an instrument to measure how nature and us including adapt, where we will be able to observe what other nonhuman species we are co-inhabiting our space with and how they use this channel to reconnect and migrate.

Whilst rethinking our relationship with the rest of our environment, the concept of Equilibrium emerged, which denotes a state of an ecosystem that is decentralised in its nature by interconnecting all the different participants. The goal of this project is to present actions of individuals that stand at the crossroads between humanity and the environment. The work seeks to blur the human-made and the natural world and question their differences as a whole.

A new perspective might arise from studying biological membranes as mechanisms of exchange and transference. According to landscape architect James Corner, “rather than separating boundaries, borders are dynamic membranes through which interactions and diverse transformations occur. In ecological terms, the edge is always the most lively and rich place because it is where the occupants and forces of one system meet and interact with those from another.“ Corners method of field operations “enables alternative ideas and effects to be played out through conventional filters and provides ways in which borders may be respected and sustained, while potentially productive forces on either side may be brought together into newly created relationships. Thus, we shift from a world of stable geometric boundaries and distinctions to one of multidimensional transference and network effects.“ One aspect of architectural practice is the separation of habitable and inhabitable space, therefore it necessarily has to deal with the notion of connecting and dividing. This partition visualises our relationship with nature through our concept of property. Our home is designed as a unit that is divided from nature. It is designed to withstand natural influences and to protect us from their unpredictability. Architecture offers us a space of predictability. This installation creates a tunnel connecting the «outsides», using built forms as a vehicle for deconstructing and reconstructing our physical and psychological perception of our habitations, beyond sovereignty and property. To rethink our built environment we propose a possibility of coexistence with the non-human by narrowing the boundaries between «inside» and «outside», blurring the barrier between «over here» and «over there».

During our research process our perspective shifts to architecture for non human and specifically to the concept of ecological corridors. These ecological corridors are designed to reconnect landscapes which are interrupted and blocked by human-built obstacles. Roughly, three types of corridors can generally be distinguished; 

1. linear corridors: long, uninterrupted strips of vegetation, such as hedges, strips of forest, and the vegetation growing on banks of rivers and streams 
2. stepping stone corridors: a series of small, non-connected habitats which are used to find shelter, food, or to rest
3. landscape corridors; these consist of diverse, uninterrupted landscape elements which offer sufficient cover for a safe journey from one core area to another. 

In light of their purpose, core areas and corridors should be free of human exploitation. 

Informed by this knowledge, we bring the concept to the urban context as a provocation to question human centric spaces. Through a series of spacial experiments, we propose a speculative scenario of a tunnel network installed within a commune.

After linking two windows with PVC sheet, certain conditions changed within its space. Namely the utility of the living space (movement, rearrangement to remain functional), the diversity in atmosphere (fall of temperature, feeling less secure) and the clear boundary between «inside» and «outside». 

Despite the fact that it has limited our living space and required us to make certain concessions in terms of comfort, the tunnel has produced a pleasant environment in which to live. The thin sheet altered our psychological awareness of our surroundings while yet making us feel somewhat safe. The tunnel visualises how natural rhythms intertwine and teaches us how to readapt or rebalance our relationship with nature.