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Eyes on the forest – a physical sensory presence in the border

  • Combinatie
  • 2020 / 2021
  • Eerste semester
  • docent: Carolien Schippers, Negar Sanaan Bensi en Nassim Razavian
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Worldwide the Netherlands and Belgium are notorious for their large amphetamine production and export. This illegal economy has its roots and is concentrated at the borderline between the two countries. Since the dissolvement of physical border control due to the Schengen Agreement in 1985, the border area between the Netherlands and Belgium has seen a continuing growth in drugs production and problems. This has great effects economically, socially and also in spatial sense. The production…

Worldwide the Netherlands and Belgium are notorious for their large amphetamine production and export. This illegal economy has its roots and is concentrated at the borderline between the two countries. Since the dissolvement of physical border control due to the Schengen Agreement in 1985, the border area between the Netherlands and Belgium has seen a continuing growth in drugs production and problems. This has great effects economically, socially and also in spatial sense. The production of drugs leaves a lot of chemical waste, which needs to be disposed of by the producers. Unfortunately, it often ends up in the environment, nature reserves, woods and even in our water and crops. The current focus from the government in battling the illegal drugs economy is mostly on catching the criminals and the production sites but does not focus on protecting the environment.
Therefore I would like to propose a new kind of surveillance network placed in the area. To decide the placing of the network, a grid is placed across the map of the border area. Within each quarter of the grid there will be a lab with an intricate network of data surveillance posts. The posts contribute to the preservation of the natural environment and deter dumpings in the vulnerable areas that according to research have the most ideal conditions for drug dumpings. The posts stand out of their surroundings and communicate that they are surveilling the area. Like a panopticon, they signal the feeling of being watched. The desired effect is that the post creates a radius that deter criminals of dumping their waste. If these dumpings where still to happen, they are detected early by the sensors and the damage to the environment can be minimized. The data of such an intricate network could also contribute to the localization of the source. 
Each lab gets assigned to a quarter on the map. The area the lab oversees is a district. The goal of the lab is to collect and analyse all the data from the surveillance posts. This information could be used to locate drug dumpings and production sites. For the gathering of data the lab has three different types of posts at its disposal: the Watcher, the Forester and the Connector. There can be any number of posts within the district and the amount and placing should be decided by the lab in the district itself. However, the posts can only be placed at certain conditions. 
The posts have different technologies and sensors. The three pre-defined types of posts provide the basis for the site-specific conditions. Additional sensors/elements can be added to these types by the lab team to make the post even more site and situation specific. The three different types are the Watcher, the Connector and the Forester. 

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