Abstract:
With 9.2 billion people to feed in 2050, humanity is heading towards an
unprecedented food crisis. However, contemporary food production and
consumption cultures are becoming increasingly unsustainable and problems
within the global food system such as food insecurity, obesity and malnutrition
remain unsolved.
In reaction to this impending global food crisis, Foodtopia is an ongoing
investigation of how architecture can be utilised as a framework to interrogate
contemporary food production and consumption culture. It argues that societies in
most developed countries are now faced with a seemingly unsolvable paradox:
most people are subconsciously aware of food-related problems, but they choose
to ignore them and continuously take part in unsustainable food production and
consumption practices. The rapid development of the food industry over the
past few decades was liberating as people could finally ease their enduring anxiety
about food insecurities. However, as people became accustomed to the notion
that food is abundant and affordable, their attitudes towards food began to
change.
This thesis investigates how architectural propositions can act as a new form of
social commentary in two parts. Firstly, architecture is used as a medium to
identify and reveal extreme examples of unsustainable food practices. Secondly,
design provocations are used that stimulate feedback and discussion within
society. Contextualising the research both internationally and locally has
facilitated a more inclusive, multifaceted argument, illustrating that food-related
issues are not only real and urgent, but also a global crisis.
The design project, Foodtopia, depicts a fictional version of Auckland as New
Zealand’s food capital where the creation, consumption and distribution of food
remain an important construct for the practice of everyday life. This research takes
an allegorical approach, envisioning a speculative fiction that addresses the
unsustainable food production and consumption cultures present within Auckland.
Radical design provocations are employed to eradicate unsustainable food
practices, creating paradoxical countering-spaces that affirm the contradictory
nature of food-related issues. Instead of dealing with the conventional critique of
gluttony, food waste and intensive farming, this thesis employs the use of satirical
narrative as an attempt to architecturally observe, scrutinise and redefine
contemporary food production and consumption cultures. In a media-saturated
world, this thesis argues that architecture, combined with humour
and satire, can act as a new medium for social commentary.