In conversation with: Theo Galvin, Architecture MArch student

Theo Galvin is an Architecture MArch student who works towards a provocative experimental style of architectural design, related to socio-political issues, specifically around the topic of waste disposal, perception and reuse. Theo talks to us about his opportunity with The AA Taiwan School Fellowship Programme 2023: Urbanity from the Ocean.

About Theo

I graduated in 2023 from BA (Hons) Architecture at Norwich University of the Arts and made the decision to stay in Norwich to continue my studies on the MArch Architecture course. This decision was made due to various factors including the level of knowledge and skills provided by the architecture tutoring body, my personal connection and comfortability within the city of Norwich and much more.

What is the Taiwan Fellowship Programme and how did you come about this opportunity?

The AA Taiwan Visiting School Fellowship 2023, ‘Urbanity from the Ocean’, was an opportunity that had been presented to all architecture students at Norwich, from year 2 and above. The purpose of the summer school was outlined as exploration, study and research of the overlooked territories that surrounds Taiwan, the ocean. Looking at how the urban fabric, industries and lifestyle is intertwined with the ocean, how one affects or has been an influencing factor of the other. This exploration was to be developed and related to cultural, political and environmental issues of the island.

The students that wanted to put themselves forward for this opportunity were required to write a 600-word motivation statement. This would outline the reasons why they would like to be chosen, how they would make the most out of the trip and what/how they could bring information and knowledge back to the architecture at Norwich. My statement was taken into consideration alongside the other applicants, and after deliberations, I was chosen as the recipient of the fellowship.

Can you tell us about what activities you engaged in, the project you worked on and what your first few days were like?

During the first few days we were taken to different sites of importance across the lower west coast of the island, going on tours and self-led exploration through many unique locations including the industrial port in Kaohsiung, oyster farms, salt farms, historical forts, heritage sites, rural areas, temples and so much more. The amazing range of cultural, social and environmental experiences, merged with an in-depth analysis, were used to generate the discourse for the group work that would occur in the rest of the course.

After the initial exploration days, groups were formed around leaders that were chosen by the tutoring body. Exciting conversations began within the groups deciding what direction the project was to go in that developed over the next week, periodically having presentations of our projects for the course tutors as well as invited external tutors. During this period, we spent much of our time at the university, working in the studio space that slowly filled with more and more work, all over the desks, walls and floors. There was an amazing sense of studio culture that formed in a very short period of time. Students from all groups along with tutors from different universities and backgrounds would converse with each other making comments on the work being produced, constantly trying to help one another progress every day. It was truly a unique experience to have such a wide range of ideas and viewpoints brought together to create ideas and outcomes within the discipline of architecture.

The final part of the course involved designing and creating an installation piece to be displayed in the university exhibition space that would be open to the public for several days. During this time each group chose the space in which their intervention would be displayed in, making sure each groups work came together to create a cohesive experience whilst also displaying each groups individual discourse. Three days were spent going back and forth from the studio to the exhibition space, to different stores across the city to get materials, until finally we presented our finished work to a jury of academic tutors, architects and designers.

I couldn’t have been prouder with the work we produced as a group and what we managed to create in such a short period of time. We had no prior knowledge of one another in the way we work as well as the amazing job that everyone did at exchanging ideas with the language barrier that was at points frustrating to all.

Design Statement: Transformative Cooperation

Our project explores the boundary between the ocean and the urban in Taiwan through the range of industries that occur along the western coastline. Analysis of these industries allowed us to perceive the degree in which people work with/against the oceanic environment.

A comparative study was made between the traditional oyster farms of Tainan’s coast and the commercial shipping industry of Kaohsiung’s port. Both industries have an undeniable interconnectivity with the ocean, however, take different approaches when working with this territory.

The oyster farms work alongside the ocean, using temporary structures and accepts the continuously changing boundary caused by the tide. In comparison, the shipping industry works in contradiction to the ocean, displacing the water for human desire, creating permanent structures that attempts to control the forever changing boundary.

The sea level is predicted to rise tens of meters in the near future, which does not seem that bad, yet will have devastating effects on coastlines all over the world, Taiwan’s being one of the more extreme cases.

Our installation attempts to connect people with the devastating effects this rise in sea level will cause, through visual, audio and touch. The work displays the constantly changing sea level and the speculative future of the western coastline of Taiwan. The work displays the oyster farms to be continuous due to the temporality and adaptability of the industry, but also shows the permanent urban environment to be submerged and no longer usable for its intended function.

Are we too late to change these industries and their context?

Is there a way to adapt the permanence of the urban environment to work with the ocean instead of against it?

Could we merge the ideas of the oyster farming with the already existing shipping port?

What other experiences did you encounter aside from working on your project?

Although the course was very intensive, we didn’t spend every waking hour in the studio. Most evenings I was invited for dinner by different students on the course, they took me to many of their favourite restaurants giving me the opportunity to explore the unique variety of food that could be found in Taiwan. From Gelatinous pigs’ blood to teriyaki chicken hearts, I was more than happy to try it all, and genuinely being pleasantly surprised with how good everything tasted. I suppose it made me question why we have the preconceptions in the UK towards certain animal parts, viewing them as in edible, when they are delicious!

Other than the food, there were many cultural and environmental differences that I experienced when in Taiwan. One of the most prominent were the trees, not something I even thought about being impactful, yet they made such a difference within the context with their abundance of handing vines and extending roots merging with the man-made elements of the cities.

Another element that I found curios was, of course, the architecture. Taiwan has such an extensive history causing the urban areas to be heavily influenced by a plethora of different design approaches including the Dutch, Japanese and Chinese that at all colonised the island of Taiwan at different stages. These elements are seen to have been built upon over the years, merging to form the unique urban construct of the cities. This caused a lot of interest in the way I think now in respect to my own design practice. This aspect of Taiwan made me conscious that there are many benefits of allowing for elements, that are often seen to be polarised, to interweave becoming another. This way of working and seeing development of current situations in many other contexts could be something that allows for the constant change needed to combat the forever changing climate we have to deal with in this world.

How has this experience contributed to shaping your personal development and future growth?

I didn’t know what to expect before going to Taiwan, but what I got was unlike anything I could have imagined. Not only did I get to experience a completely different culture, but also gained new friends, new skills and development of communication within group work. All of which have expanded my view on the world, the architectural discipline, and my own design process.