Matterscapes

Ecological awareness starts with visualizing the time and space embodied in every element of the built environment. From substance called matter extracted from the earth system to material made, transported, and converging in a building, the afterlife of material can trigger different timescales depending on its ability to be part of a loop. For this reason, studying the material’s life cycle begins with understanding the time dimension behind the “Matter-Material-Matter?” sequence. Matter, extracted from the earth’s crust, generates an economy and a social organization. From industrial landscapes to eco-logical upheavals, the transformation and transport of matter shape our living environment. Matterscapes means a com-prehensive view of the matter. This concept aims to deci¬pher the interconnection between different network systems inte-grated into the use of materials. Matterscapes respond to the scrambling of networks and data triggered by globaliza¬tion and the abstraction of climate change. The content of the “Matterscapes” class is directly linked to the urgency of visualizing the journey of matter far beyond its temporality restricted by the life of a building. Visualizing the economic, social, and ecological landscapes intertwined in the life of matter could initiate the power of actions in our psychology.