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Of the thesis entitled:ÌýSubmechanophilia

Abstract:

Twenty-threeÌýfederal offshore oil platforms line the coast of Southern California forÌýapproximately 200 miles from Point Conepcion, Santa Barbara County toÌýHuntington Beach, Oxford County. Installed from1968 to 1989, they are some ofÌýthe oldest platforms in theÌýworld and currently face the process of completeÌýdecommissioning after having consumed the site’s 200-million-year-old reservesÌýin just over a century. The site holds a heavy history with oil; from one ofÌýthe world’s first offshore oil wells in 1896, to large andÌýcatastrophic oilÌýspills, to present day, with unregulated offshore fracking.
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However, beneath the surface of the water, their metal lattice structureÌýthat anchors them to the earth is covered in a thick layer of life, as theyÌýhave grown into dense micro-habitats that support an entire food cycle - fromÌýdeep sea invertebrates to fish and large mammals.ÌýThe site composes the firstÌýhalf of the Southern California Bight, a zone on the coastal shelf that is richÌýin ecological diversity. Here, complex offshore winds and eddies twist larvae,Ìýnutrients, and plankton to the platforms, initiating the growth of life. TheÌýquestion of theÌýpreservation of life on the platforms has placed a doubt in theÌýprocess of decommissioning, with many stakeholders speculating on keeping theÌýplatforms in place with a future use.
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Inspired by contemporary French sociologist Bruno Latour’s spirit ofÌýinclusivity and collectivity amongst the sciences, this thesis proposes theÌýreuse of oil platforms as cen­tres of scientific and field research, invitingÌýthe sciences to re-enter the site as a collective whoseÌýintention is to studyÌýand cohabitate with the site’s ecology. Gathering the sciences that maintain anÌýinterest in the site, the design aims to engage with site’s assembly of humanÌýand non-human forces and immerse into the forces of energy, matter and life.

The examining committee is as follows: