THE PANARCHIC CODEX

“The aspiration of design for deconstruction is to code the logic of unmaking into the building from the very earliest point of its making... designing for a building to end well”. Cairns and Jacobs, 2014.

8.1 Overview

Concluding the five-part case studies series, the proposed WUI building codes, collectively known as the Panarchic Codex, represent the convergence of insights from multiple fields of interrogation, of which the foci has been the fire regimes and the behaviours and ecologies thereof, as documented both within parts I – IV, and throughout the wider body of the thesis. These codes are intended as a point of departure that will inform yet further research into the potentialities of aligning anthropogenic architectural and urban systems to the functioning of the ever-evolving landscapes, and ultimately, Earth Systems to which they are integral. Their name a nod to the Codex Atlanticus [139], conceptually, the codes constitute three architectural ‘Pyro Moirai’ [fire fates], wherein, from the outset, materially, structurally, and informatically, the lifecycle of a building is synced with its pyro-environment.

Though an integral part of this thesis, the codex has been designed to work as a stand- alone tool for use in architecture and planning workshops that will be attended by researchers and practitioners alike. Therefore, though paradigmatically it is a thing apart from the Californian Fires Codes of present, its format and section headers have been informed by the structure thereof. Further ways in which the codex will be utilised to continue the research initiated within the study programme include that of a thought-provocation piece within presentations, podcasts, and other on and offline media, discussions, and debates.

>Continue to Chapter 8 [parts II - IV] by clicking ‘Codex’ here.

Footnotes

[139] Compiled by Pompeo Leoni in the 16th century, the Codex Atlanticus is a 12-part bound volume of Leonardo da Vinci’s interrogations, ideas, and innovations of intent to address wide-ranging science, engineering, and design problems. Within its 1,119 pages reside many of da Vinci’s city planning, construction, utilities, and other urban works, together with writings and sketches on topics as diverse as botany, hydrology, manufacturing, and defence.

The thesis is also available in PDF format, downloadable in several parts on Academia and Researchgate.

Note that figures have been removed from the digital version hosted on this site, but are included in the PDFs available at the links above.

Citation: Sterry, M. L., (2018) Panarchistic Architecture: Building Wildland-Urban Interface Resilience to Wildfire through Design Thinking, Practice and Building Codes Modelled on Ecological Systems Theory. PhD Thesis, Advanced Virtual and Technological Architecture Research [AVATAR] group, University of Greenwich, London.