Melody Matin

01 For Jurying Consideration - Re Extraction: The Problematic Spaces of Separation within the Human Exclusion Network of the Technology Industry

This is Re Extraction, in the age of limitless demand and consumption of electronics. The future of Architecture is in automation. A typology that continues to grow with our reliance on a digitalized world. And not only does our built environment advance in technological capabilities but so do our everyday products. Screens have become so embedded in our everyday routine we’re constantly using devices. We are also always replacing our devices every few years, and the technology industry is responsible for coming up with the best new thing and also selling us the idea that we need to constantly upgrade. This increasingly globalized industry demands services from certain countries. Canada has a particularly important role in this supply chain. One of two rare earth mines is situated in the North West Territories and that same company, Vital Metals, processes the REE in Saskatchewan for production overseas. It all came full circle when I realized that Canada is responsible for a lot of e-waste. We treat our devices as throw away products, like single use straws and we have no idea the process that goes into producing these objects and its immense value (metal, gold, plastic, etc.). As we move towards a future of automation, the disconnected relationship between consumers and the unseen materialities of technology will make it more complex to value rare earth elements of our geological artifacts. My thesis explores responding to the e-waste in Canada and aims to re-conceptualize the potential of automation at e-waste dumping grounds to avoid the global north (Canada) from shipping the waste we are responsible for, to the global south. This thesis explores the potential for a humanless environment that is fully automated and self-sufficient. Here, these robots can sort through e-waste, a job too dangerous for humans, and gather the materials still valuable for reuse. There is also room to imagine that these robots can use the toxic material to support their environment like a waste to energy system. The goal is not to solve any big problem, but to view this industry in a new perspective and speculate a new architectural typology of machine centered design. This research based speculative thesis is about the human exclusion network that is concerned with the waste and land degradation of the technology industry. As we move towards a future of automation, the disconnected relationship between consumers and the unseen materialities of technology will make it more complex to value rare earth elements of their geological artifacts. This narrative environment re-conceptualizes the potential of automation at e-waste dumping grounds and responds with evolutionary solutions.This research approaches Canada’s role in the global supply chain of the technology industry, specifically its mining identity. By manipulating robotics and altering landscapes, I challenge these spaces of separation. By reuse, reactivation, and repurposing automated machines, I re-conceptualize the relationship between the altered landscape and its user.