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The Big Mussel. A choreography of productive pit-stops.
The journey starts at Whitstable. There is a boat Gretta which takes sea fort travellers to see two of the forts (Red Sands and Shivering Sands) every day during the sailing season. Steve is a Gretta’s captain. He used to leave on the boat when it was abandoned and fixed it. Steve always paints Gretta in blue and yellow colours. There are Maunsell sea forts appearing at the horizon line which now stay abandoned.
The aim is to use the space which has been forgotten and find the way to preserve this quietness. To make people stop and explore the place they are passing by.
The project is based on two gestures which appear by introducing the mussel farm and creating the pit-stop.
Movement of water and flat balcony of the Thames estuary provide special conditions for mussels to grow in this area. There are two principles of mussels growth. The first one is the principle of the shell growth. The second one is exponential growth of the population.
Population will grow following the exponent till the moment it reaches Carrying Capacity. It is a number which represents the maximum possible amount of species calculated according to the environment restrictions. As a part of the project Carrying Capacity based on the surface of the net walls around the void island.
As soon as the population reaches 90 per cent level of the Carrying Capacity the next net wall can be placed in the water. It will help to use 10 per cents of the first population before it dyes to start the next life cycle. The underwater nets create its own environment as a part of the void island, which people can explore.
Mussel farm is a pit-stop for people who are waiting to enter to London port as well as for tourists. A mussel shape roof is covering the abandoned towers, representing on the top what is happening underneath.
Big mussel is welcoming people to stop on the highways cross, meet strangers who just came from the other side of the north sea or even further. It is a place for people to communicate and enjoy mussels at the mussel farm while they are waiting.
Project Author: Dariya Cheremisina