Title: The New Ecological Order Theme: Transformation of Nature in North Africa due to the European Energy Transition Type: Research, Vision, Installation, Publication Location: Morocco, Draa-Tafilalet region Exhibition: International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam 2024, The New Institute – Museum for Architecture, Design, and Digital Culture Local Research Support: Koun Aktif (Local NGO) and residents from the affected areas Year: 2023 - Ongoing
"The New Ecological Order" examines the impact of the European energy transition on Morocco's Imazighen Indigenous communities, especially those in the Draa-Tafilalet region, home to the world’s largest concentrated solar plant. This project approaches the energy transition from a cultural angle, highlighting Indigenous knowledge as a beacon of hope and showcasing resilience amid changing energy landscapes.
Traditionally, the Imazighen expressed their identity through crafts. Today, however, their culture is overshadowed by big tech and oil companies, which undermine traditional knowledge.
The project's findings were published in a limited edition for the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam.
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Supported By: IABR; Creative Industries NL Video and Photography of Morocco: Lesia Topolnyk, 2023 Photos of the Installation: Midas van Boekel
Installation dimensions: 5m (h) x 3m (l) x 2,5m (w)
The installation acts as a symbolic totem—not a monolithic statue of nostalgia, but a dynamic representation of shifting forces. Found objects, each carrying the weight of local stories, come together to create a complex ecosystem of meaning. This narrative space encourages visitors to explore the true implications of energy transition and how traditional knowledge—a fragile, nature-connected foundation—is being compromised by international projects like the NOOR solar plant. Although such projects signify progress, they are often entangled with extractivist agendas driven by fossil fuel corporations.
At the foundation of the installation, traditional Moroccan carpets anchor the narrative. A Beni Ourain carpet, woven from wool, and a Boucherouite rug, crafted from repurposed textiles like wool, cotton, and synthetic fibers, embody the shifting currents of energy transitions.
The advent of modern projects has curtailed Morocco's traditional nomadic lifestyle, leading to a scarcity of wool, once a vital resource for these cultural artifacts.
Above these carpets lies a contemporary artificial layer symbolising NOOR Solar Plant. This solar plant reflects the modern shift in energy sources and overlays the traditional carpets, illustrating the ongoing evolution of energy transitions.
On top of the carpets, Moroccan lanterns are juxtaposed with artillery shell cases. The lanterns, rooted deeply in ancient Maghreb cultures, blend Amazigh, Jewish, Islamic, Arab, and African influences. Their evolution during French colonization demonstrates how modernization has impacted these traditions.
The artillery shell cases, including those from the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, highlight the connections between energy, resources, and warfare. This conflict led to an oil embargo and a global energy crisis. It prompted research into renewable energy and reshaped geopolitical dynamics. These changes continue to affect today’s energy transitions, including the Abraham Accords.
Transitioning between these elements, a Traditional Jar filled with Sahara sand symbolizes collectivity. In contrast, a 'Contemporary' Jar symbolised by oil tanks and water heater tanks, reflects modern individualism and privatization. The traditional jar represents communal sharing and hope. Meanwhile, the contemporary jar illustrates a shift towards capitalism and personal possessions, highlighting evolving relationships between energy, resources, and daily life.
Throughout the installation, Water Meters are scattered. They symbolically represent the depletion of water resources caused by the NOOR Solar Plant. Before the plant was finished, Morocco heavily relied on the Al-Monsour Ad Dhabi dam. This dam was crucial for both irrigation and drinking water. The reliance on the dam underscored the country’s water stress. Consequently, it highlighted the challenges of balancing water use among the solar plant, agriculture, mining, and urban needs.
Another significant element is the Sahara Sand from the Ouarzazate region. This sand illustrates the Sahara Desert’s role in replenishing the Amazon rainforest. It does so through dust plumes that carry phosphorus. Despite seeming minor, this contribution greatly affects the Amazon’s ecosystem. Thus, it serves as a metaphor for the interconnectedness of global energy and environmental systems.
A European Rollcontainer, stacked as a tower and filled with European and global artifacts, represents transition, modernity, and nomadism. It embodies the pressures of global forces and includes references to the World Bank.
Surrounding the Rollcontainer and positioned at its top are Optical Fiber Cables and Recycled Electronic Parts from Big Tech. These components signify the shift towards green energy and cloud-based operations. Although they may seem intangible and futuristic, they rely on a fundamental connection to physicality and nature. Ignoring this connection could have severe consequences.
Together, these elements weave a complex narrative. They invite visitors to reflect on the profound and often hidden impacts of energy transitions on culture and the environment.
Project
Biography
Lesia Topolnyk (StudioSpaceStation) is an architect, artist, researcher, and film director based in The Netherlands and working internationally. Raised within a constantly changing political environment in her native Ukraine and educated as an artist and architect, at the heart of her practice lies a fascination with the interconnectedness of global dynamics and invisible forces that manifest and shape our physical realities.
After a decade of working for internationally renowned architecture practices, Lesia founded Studio Space Station to respond to urgent societal and planetary issues beyond traditional boundaries of architecture, bringing together global and local concerns.
Through mediums of installations, interventions, architectural designs, drawings, films, and sculptures, Lesia makes ideas, dreams, and hidden stories tangible. Grounded in extensive research, each project unfolds as a unique expression of its context. Lesia’s work seeks to provoke thought, evoke emotion, and spark dialogue, inviting engagement with the complexities of our world in new and unexpected ways.
Lesia easily navigates between different scales and realities, holding masters in Architecture (NL), Urban Planning (PL), and Environmental design (UA). For her work, Lesia has received numerous Dutch and international awards, being exhibited and published internationally. Lesia teaches and gives lectures in The Netherlands and abroad.
2024 - International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) 2024 - OMI, Rotterdam 2022 - Prix de Rome, NI, Rotterdam 2022 - Architecture Triennale, Lisbon 2022 - New European Bauhaus, Brussels 2021 - Dutch Design Week 2021 - Biennale, Venice 2020 - Dutch Design Week 2019 - Biennale, Santiago 2019 - Archiprix International 2019 - Archiprix Netherlands
Portrait Prix de Rome 2022
'Lesia Topolnyk is an architect who focuses on a broader interpretation of her field. She is interested in the potential of her profession within our constructed reality – not necessarily in building things. 'It's about ideas that take shape during the research and design process which generate new typologies,' she says. For her, it's not enough to shape the world reactively, or in line with what already exists. She explains: 'Although architects are seen as people who design spaces, we also design relationships. Especially in these turbulent political times, it's necessary to look at how the world is designed to understand the larger context in which a project is taking place. I sometimes reflect on major problems at a global level, while other times I focus on the space inside someone's mind.'
Topolnyk grew up in Ukraine, and addressed the situation in Crimea with her final project at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. She created a proposal for a building that consisted primarily of corridors – places where discussions and interactions occur that ultimately have the greatest influence on the decisions being made. Continuous mediation of the situation was central to this concept. The architecture symbolised and supported the mental capacity of those involved. In this endless network of hallways, which reference the agora, visitors could have endless discussions which allowed for a continuous debate; politics is an ongoing conversation. Similarly, her own vision of architecture and her process of research and design focuses on conversation, contributions from different positions, and the involvement of people with a wide range of expertise. She therefore frequently collaborates with people who work in different fields. Because 'you can learn from others and they bring valuable insights and viewpoints...'
Her current research is focused on the various crises humanity is currently facing, with a special interest in political systems and the significance of democracy, including its Greek foundations. She is exploring how this form of government was historically designed and how architecture supported and portrayed it. 'It's about how we can shape change and how we can manage the world better together,' she concludes. Architecture can play a role in that by offering design solutions that support the decision-making process.'
