Under the See: Coral is open at Bangkok 1899 until 11 October. This is the second of three posts. Last time I shared the design limitations behind the reef module. This time, come for a walk through the room with me.
Coral Sanctuary Unit by ATMEC
The first thing you see as you enter the room is the large concrete hexagonal tubes stacked up. Names Coral Sanctuary Units, or CSU’s these have been used by ATMEC for a few years.
This stack has been made using a modified concrete construction cast for concrete. The mix contains crushed oyster shells, biochar, concrete and sand. It’s a new mix and heavier than standard concrete. This is to test this new mix which includes natural calcium of the shells.
Inside the stack there is a blue glow, and if you look inside you see a timelapse of the team led by Dr Rahul Mehrotra constructing a CSU in the water.
Wall panels
On the walls around the room you can see field photos from ATMEC bring the Gulf of Thailand into the gallery. Alongside them, posters illustrate the context of the project and exhibition.
Artificial reef module, stage by stage
Down the centre of the room you can see models showing the design evolution of my artificial reef module.
This is the view from the end, you can see the colonised model with its orange and yellow at the other end.
First comes three modules connected together to form a triangle. This is the foundation of how the modules are deployed, in a trio, linked together. You can add pairs onto any side of this, to a larger mass. The feet are hooked and can be connected at any corner, allowing them to be arranged in many ways, depending on the location.
The blue paper represents concrete, designed as per Rahul’s limitations – 75% of the mass an weight in the bottom 50% of the form. Whilst the feet curl under, these will sink into the seabed, so the lower concrete panel will contact the ocean floor. The rebar will be 12mm, strong and thick enough to last 10 years in the water, and structure for colonisation. Some corals like metal – as can be seen at many shipwreck sites – Ideally we want as clean a surface as possible, without paint, chemicals or oils.
It’s quite challenging to photograph these next two in the gallery, so I’ll add pictures from my sketchbook later! Next you see a single piece of metal which is bent with no cuts, to save on electricity and labour. It is bent simply to form a shape that is stable for the ocean and its currents and easy to make.
After this is the same length of metal, now bent precisely with regular, measurable sections so others can follow the design. It is reinforced with minimal additional metal, mesh or whatever you have around, to act as rebar and reinforce the concrete which is last.
The blue paper represents the concrete: a minimum of 20 kg, with 75% of the mass and weight in the lowest 25% of the structure to resist swells and oceanic weather.
Then I’ve displayed the final shape as if it has been colonised by various ocean life, to bring our intention to life.
My sketchbook
My sketchbook is on the table in the gallery room. I left it there to share my process. Inside are the sketches and visual working – out of many elements of the design. I use a visual diary to bookmark ideas as explore options, before choosing which ones to develop further. You can read more about how I designed this module in my last post.
Reef Day
Saturday 10 October is Reef Day. At 5 pm I’ll be in conversation with marine biologist Dr Rahul Mehrotra. Register for the talk here. Na Projects is also making a special menu for the reef project that day, and we can mingle until 20:00.
The exhibition is now open from 1 to 11 October at Bangkok 1899.
The next task for me is making the real modules. Right now Bangkok is severely flooded, with every 50 region declared emergency zone. I’m working on new plan as we speak, I need to find unflooded land to work on, and a welder to help fabricate. Right now I don’t have a plan, but I’m hopeful we will find a way!
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