Thursday, November 8, 2007


Denmark based task force CREW*31 and its work “Post Industrial Fleet” was the main attraction in the Future Pavilion's Ocean wing. CREW*31 is specialized in converting big scale industrial ships and barges into new urban functions such as the Bioship as an in vessel treatment factory to separate, recycle and compost waste produced its host city. The Community ship gives free space for hobbies or community activities trying to activate the waterline as the new democratic surface of the cities. These ships are out of their industrial duty, the engines are removed and the ship more or less locked into a fixed position as part of the city.
The method was originally created for Denmark and then exhibited in the Venice Biennale 2004 but quite easily converted to meet the conditions in Taiwan as well. Both Denmark and Taiwan have one of the biggest commercial fleets of the world but the harbor industry is concentrating into a few huge scale harbors leaving the smaller harbor cities and towns without boats fading them away from their naval narrative. On the other hand the cities have now the possibility to move to the harbors and CREW*31 is giving them tools to activate the new urban space in a more humanistic and ecologically aware way as an example for a possible direction of new urban development.