Airplot
Illustration Russell Weekes
To truly prevent construction of the third runway at Heathrow a radical gesture is required to shake stakeholders (all of us) out of their respective stupors. This IS a matter of life and death. We submit an idea that is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a Hobson’s choice of last resort, that in it’s most ideal outcome, need not be built! The mere threat of its design and implementation are catalyst for all sides of the debate to reengage in responsible dialogue and ensuing compromise.
What strategy to turn the tide? A carrot or a stick? An apple or a poison? A sword or a stone? Matter or antimatter? Everlasting life or eternal damnation? Like in a fairy tale, we are coupling opposites, pairing the ultimate attractant and the dastardly deterrent, inextricably linked in a timeless embrace. What brings people together more than the sharing of food? What frightens us more profoundly than the threat of wholesale destruction?
THE CARROT: The white and gray veined marble table is supported underneath and on one cantilevered end by smooth concrete understructure and column. Markers of change and time, bronze and corten panels inscripted with “Our Land, Our Climate, Our responsibility,” are inset into the top. The table is a formal, deliberate object at which we sit and engage in centuries worth of significant, industrious, tabletop activities. This spot can be a location for apple harvesting, writing, festivals, or negotiations to halt the third runway…
The other end of the table rests plainly on top of a wandering, organic, fuse shaped grassy mound. Another bronze inlay is set in the marble slab here, that of a universal hazard symbol in the middle of which is a circular, thick glass portal that day or night glows with bioluminescent light—warm, but ominous. Grass “benches” articulated in the mounds provide seating around the glowing portal. This sinuous embankment is formed of the soil extracted from the 50 metre deep, 1 1/2 metre radius shaft drilled under the western end of the table. It counters the regular, agricultural grid of trees and along its length provides locations for individual contemplation.
THE STICK: Near the bottom of this ½ metre concrete/ceramic cased shaft, housed in a stainless steel cylinder will be placed an unnamed toxin, a primed broadcasting device directly below it. The concrete structural end piece of table is the final cap and seal, craned into place over the shaft, which is accessed by rope drop in only. This device will be powered by stored compressed air. Connected throughout the site and back to the capsule is a network of embedded sensors, identified on the surface by metal cylinder shaped landscape lighting under a selected number of tress around the table. If altered and disturbed by drilling or bulldozing, like a spider’s web, these sensors trigger compressed air into toxin, propelling it up through the glass portal into air and surrounding soil. An area of approximately 2km radius rendered barren, unapproachable, difficult to remediate-useless to both the residents and the airport. Details of this design are to be engineered covertly.
The orchard need be monitored simply by remote security systems and daytime guides and attendants. The chosen toxin will have a 50 year window of danger, long enough to fend off the construction of a new runway as well reinforce the awareness of our responsibility to our planet. The orchard will be planted as young saplings, so will require typical tending and caretaking to become a productive fruit bearing enterprise. The current sheds on site will are to be moved and grouped to the eastern end of the site, where a clearance will be made in some of the tree and shrub growth to allow for the siting of the buildings. Bee hives will be maintained on site to pollinate the fruit trees and produce honey.
Our idea is designed to be supple and flexible, we envision four possible scenarios/outcomes, in order of preference…:
1. Greenpeace announces this the winning proposal. Publicized worldwide, there is shock and outrage by both proponents and opponents that anyone would consider carrying out this plan. “Would someone really do this? Do they really want to make the land useless for everyone?” Ah ha moment, rather than permitting this game of environmental chicken, an accord is reached the runway is halted; both parties give concessions to transportation and the environment. In celebration, the design is then executed, minus the toxin and shaft. The orchard flourishes in the ensuing years, fruit is harvested and this plot of land is transformed into a commemoration of possibility and fragility. In 200 years, archaeologists speculate on the meaning of such a structure.
2. If the world remains complacent in the face of the design, the project goes forward in every aspect, save the injection of the toxin and catalyst mechanism. This should be the tipping point in the global conscience of people getting together to stop this menace. At this point the disputing parties will gather round the table in the orchard to again find solution, stop the runway and this equally devious act.
3. The end game is reached, dialogue is fruitless, the toxin is installed and the site is “activated.” It becomes a ticking time bomb that the other side never trips. It is safely monitored and In 50 years the half-life of the toxin has rendered it inert and the danger passes as does the building of the runway, during which time new transportation solutions will be discovered. In 200 years, archaeologists speculate on the meaning of it all.
4. The sheep in wolf’s clothing: runway construction begins with the attempt to diffuse the alert system. It fails. The toxin is released. The land is contaminated. Those citizens who survive are evacuated. The site is abandoned, too poisonous to sustain human, animal or plant life. This plot of land is reduced to a hell on earth. In 200 years, the dim glow of the solar-powered warning beacon continues to remind even the most curious archaelogists that earlier generations made grave errors. If this really happens, then none of us are capable stewards of the earth.
This concept for a design eschews fisticuffs and armed conflict of past interventions, obliges us all to participate and be responsible for conflict. This plot of land can speak louder—and longer—than words. This is a true beginning, and hopefully not an ending.
Illustration Russell WeekesTo truly prevent construction of the third runway at Heathrow a radical gesture is required to shake stakeholders (all of us) out of their respective stupors. This IS a matter of life and death. We submit an idea that is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a Hobson’s choice of last resort, that in it’s most ideal outcome, need not be built! The mere threat of its design and implementation are catalyst for all sides of the debate to reengage in responsible dialogue and ensuing compromise.
What strategy to turn the tide? A carrot or a stick? An apple or a poison? A sword or a stone? Matter or antimatter? Everlasting life or eternal damnation? Like in a fairy tale, we are coupling opposites, pairing the ultimate attractant and the dastardly deterrent, inextricably linked in a timeless embrace. What brings people together more than the sharing of food? What frightens us more profoundly than the threat of wholesale destruction?
THE CARROT: The white and gray veined marble table is supported underneath and on one cantilevered end by smooth concrete understructure and column. Markers of change and time, bronze and corten panels inscripted with “Our Land, Our Climate, Our responsibility,” are inset into the top. The table is a formal, deliberate object at which we sit and engage in centuries worth of significant, industrious, tabletop activities. This spot can be a location for apple harvesting, writing, festivals, or negotiations to halt the third runway…
The other end of the table rests plainly on top of a wandering, organic, fuse shaped grassy mound. Another bronze inlay is set in the marble slab here, that of a universal hazard symbol in the middle of which is a circular, thick glass portal that day or night glows with bioluminescent light—warm, but ominous. Grass “benches” articulated in the mounds provide seating around the glowing portal. This sinuous embankment is formed of the soil extracted from the 50 metre deep, 1 1/2 metre radius shaft drilled under the western end of the table. It counters the regular, agricultural grid of trees and along its length provides locations for individual contemplation.
THE STICK: Near the bottom of this ½ metre concrete/ceramic cased shaft, housed in a stainless steel cylinder will be placed an unnamed toxin, a primed broadcasting device directly below it. The concrete structural end piece of table is the final cap and seal, craned into place over the shaft, which is accessed by rope drop in only. This device will be powered by stored compressed air. Connected throughout the site and back to the capsule is a network of embedded sensors, identified on the surface by metal cylinder shaped landscape lighting under a selected number of tress around the table. If altered and disturbed by drilling or bulldozing, like a spider’s web, these sensors trigger compressed air into toxin, propelling it up through the glass portal into air and surrounding soil. An area of approximately 2km radius rendered barren, unapproachable, difficult to remediate-useless to both the residents and the airport. Details of this design are to be engineered covertly.
The orchard need be monitored simply by remote security systems and daytime guides and attendants. The chosen toxin will have a 50 year window of danger, long enough to fend off the construction of a new runway as well reinforce the awareness of our responsibility to our planet. The orchard will be planted as young saplings, so will require typical tending and caretaking to become a productive fruit bearing enterprise. The current sheds on site will are to be moved and grouped to the eastern end of the site, where a clearance will be made in some of the tree and shrub growth to allow for the siting of the buildings. Bee hives will be maintained on site to pollinate the fruit trees and produce honey.
Our idea is designed to be supple and flexible, we envision four possible scenarios/outcomes, in order of preference…:
1. Greenpeace announces this the winning proposal. Publicized worldwide, there is shock and outrage by both proponents and opponents that anyone would consider carrying out this plan. “Would someone really do this? Do they really want to make the land useless for everyone?” Ah ha moment, rather than permitting this game of environmental chicken, an accord is reached the runway is halted; both parties give concessions to transportation and the environment. In celebration, the design is then executed, minus the toxin and shaft. The orchard flourishes in the ensuing years, fruit is harvested and this plot of land is transformed into a commemoration of possibility and fragility. In 200 years, archaeologists speculate on the meaning of such a structure.
2. If the world remains complacent in the face of the design, the project goes forward in every aspect, save the injection of the toxin and catalyst mechanism. This should be the tipping point in the global conscience of people getting together to stop this menace. At this point the disputing parties will gather round the table in the orchard to again find solution, stop the runway and this equally devious act.
3. The end game is reached, dialogue is fruitless, the toxin is installed and the site is “activated.” It becomes a ticking time bomb that the other side never trips. It is safely monitored and In 50 years the half-life of the toxin has rendered it inert and the danger passes as does the building of the runway, during which time new transportation solutions will be discovered. In 200 years, archaeologists speculate on the meaning of it all.
4. The sheep in wolf’s clothing: runway construction begins with the attempt to diffuse the alert system. It fails. The toxin is released. The land is contaminated. Those citizens who survive are evacuated. The site is abandoned, too poisonous to sustain human, animal or plant life. This plot of land is reduced to a hell on earth. In 200 years, the dim glow of the solar-powered warning beacon continues to remind even the most curious archaelogists that earlier generations made grave errors. If this really happens, then none of us are capable stewards of the earth.
This concept for a design eschews fisticuffs and armed conflict of past interventions, obliges us all to participate and be responsible for conflict. This plot of land can speak louder—and longer—than words. This is a true beginning, and hopefully not an ending.