Modern Ruins.
Andre Willers
30 Dec 2013
Synopsis :
Modern ruins are due to inhibition of recovery .
Discussion :
1.Hashima Island
Once the most densely populated city on the planet , it now
has a population density of zero .
“It is known for its coal mines and their operation during the industrialization of Japan. Mitsubishi bought
the island in 1890 and began the project, the aim of which was extracting coal
from undersea mines. They built Japan's first largeconcrete building
(9 stories high),[1] a block of apartments in 1916 to accommodate
their burgeoning ranks of workers. Concrete was specifically used to protect
against typhoon destruction.
In 1959, the 6.3-hectare (16-acre) island's population reached its peak of
5,259, with a population density of 835 people perhectare (83,500
people/km2, 216,264 people per square mile) for the whole island, or
1,391 per hectare (139,100 people/km2) for the residential district.[2]
As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the
1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country, and Hashima's mines
were no exception. Mitsubishi officially announced the closing of the mine in
1974, and today it is empty and bare, which is why it is called Ghost Island.[3] Travel
to Hashima was re-opened on April 22, 2009 after 35 years of closure.”
See images :
In 2009, the island was featured in History Channel's Life After
People, first season episode "The Bodies Left Behind"
as an example of the decay of concrete buildings after only 35 years of
abandonment.[6] The
island was again featured in 2011 in episode six of a 3D production for 3net, Forgotten
Planet discussing the island's current state, history and unauthorized
photo shoots by urban explorers.[7][8] During
the 2009 Mexican photography festival FotoSeptiembre, Mexican
photographers Guillaume Corpart Muller and Jan
Smith, along with Venezuelan photographer Ragnar Chacin showcased images from
the island in the exhibition "Pop. Density 5,000/km2". The exhibit
traced urban density and the rise and fall of cities around the world.[9]
The Japanese Cultural Institute in Mexico used the images of
Corpart Muller and Smith in the photography exhibit, "Fantasmas de
Gunkanjima", organized by Daniela Rubio, as part of the celebrations
surrounding 200 Years of Diplomacy Mexico–Japan.[10]
Sony featured the island in a video promoting one of their video
cameras. The camera was mounted onto a mini, multi-rotor, RC helicopter and
flown around the island as well as throughout many buildings. The video was
posted on YouTube in April 2013.[11]
In 2013, Google sent an employee to the island with a Street View backpack to capture its
condition in panoramic 360-degree views and allow users to take a virtual walk
across the island. Google also used its Business Photos technology to let users
look inside the abandoned buildings, complete with old black-and-white TVs and
discarded soda bottles.[12]
In June 2013, German publisher Steidl published
the book Gunkanjima by French photographers Yves Marchand and
Romain Meffre. The book also features some historical pictures made by
photographer Chiyuki Ito who lived and worked on the island.[13]
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2.Ruins of Detroit
Once the major center of
American automotive industry , it is now mostly (2/3) a ghost town , mostly due
to mismanagement .
3.What happened ?
Mono-culture bubbles
popped .
Coal in Hashima Island , crummy
Cars in Detroit .
This was survivable , if
free-enterprise was allowed after the collapse .
But recovery was inhibited
by bad management .
The results are the
present ruins of greed and short sightedness .
4. “Trying to grasp all ,
they lost all”
5.What is the lesson in
this ?
As we go into the
Singularity , production mono-cultures using techniques like “Just-in-time” ,
etc optimized on efficiency ,
will become ruins .
The social consequences
are devastating .
6. Giving it away .
If Mitshubishi had given
Hashima Island away it would still have lost it , but it would now be a
thriving free-port and trading center . See Arabian Gulf states .
Similarly , if Detroit had
forgiven its crippling debt burdens , it would now be a thriving community .
7. The Trick :
If a mono-culture fails ,
do not try to hold onto it . Just give it away .
Everybody ends up richer .
See the Ruins
Andre
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