Earl Pellerin Traveling FellowshipLawrence Technological UniversitySeptember 10, 2015

Breck Edward Norman CrandellBreckCrandell@gmail.com[734] 646.9896

“You do not understand design, because you do not understand water.”

- Juanito Yan, Architect

Cultures of Migration/

An Architectural Study of the Nomadic Seafaring Groups of Southeast Asia

Transient Cultures

Mr. Schwartz,

At the beginning of my architectural education, I never thought I would be nominated for a fellowship that allows me the opportunity to travel the world in pursuit of knowledge, inspiration, and awareness in the world of architecture. I am both honored and humbled by the nomination for the Earl Pellerin Fellowship and for the opportunity that this research and possible travel presents to me. I share Dr. Pellerin’s view that “travel is an important part of an architect’s education.” My first time on an airplane was alongside Professor Jim Stevens en route to a workshop in Delhi, India two years ago. Since then, travel has become an integral part of my education here at Lawrence Tech. As Professor Stevens would say, I’ve “gotten the bug,” and for me there’s no turning back. I have learned much about culture, architecture, and design by getting to see other areas of the world. I am excited to propose a continuation of my research and exploration abroad.

It is my intent to pursue my interest in the movement and flexibility of the built environment via a three-part architectural study of the nomadic seafaring people who have inhabited the Southeast Asian coasts of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia for hundreds of years.

This is more than a niche interest. This is a lifestyle that I have adopted and practiced, albeit in a different cultural context and with less permanence.

Those who know me personally also know that I have spent the majority of my architectural education living in a minivan. With a job in Lansing, a girlfriend [now fiancé] in Grand Rapids, and Lawrence Tech in Southfield, I was forced to adapt to a nomadic lifestyle. This practice taught me many things including efficiency and minimalism. Instead of putting an importance on material possessions, I shifted my focus on owning only resources that were necessary for daily function.

September 10, 2015

Similarly, three analogous ethnic groups known as the Moken, Orang Laut, and the Badjao are nomadic cultures that rely entirely on their seaborne lifestyle. Everything they do is dictated by their relationship to the water. To preserve their independence, they often relocate for both political and economic reasons. Sometimes in pursuit of products of the sea for survival, other times to avoid persecution - they are able to move from place to place based on their hierarchy of needs. My relationship to asphalt and the highway systems dictates my travel and commerce akin to these nomadic group’s reliance on water to support their lifestyle. We can learn a great deal about the movement and flexibility of architecture by researching their buildings and culture through the lenses of the following topics:

[1] architecture of necessity

[2] details of unconstrained/unrestricted construction

[3] safety and welfare: failure of construction = death

[4] social proximity to each other/present-day culture

[5] communal practice of construction

[6] material selection and collection

[7] adaptability

[8] environmental response

[9] human relationship with water

[10] architectural relationship with water

[Leg 1] MokenThe Moken are a group of hunter-gatherers that historically have lived on the Andaman Sea within the Mergui archipelago off the coasts of Burma and Thailand. The Moken traditionally spend most of their lives on houseboats known as Kabang, traveling from bay to bay depending on environmental conditions.

The first leg of the journey would begin in the capital city Bangkok, in order to prepare for the trek down the southern coast along Burma toward the ultimate destination Koh Surin, home to one of the last settlements of Moken people living in traditional ways.

In modern times, the Moken have drawn a lot of attention for their unique ways of live and their unexpected survival of a serious hurricane in 2004. A lot of stress has been put on the Moken people and profoundly affected interaction with modern society because of concentrated tourism bringing uninformed visitors combined with the establishment of the Surin islands into a Mu Koh Surin National Park.

Luckily, there is a group that recognizes these changes, and is making an effort to bridge the gap between visitors and the tribes. Upon arriving in the Khura Buri District, I will meet with the Moken Tourism Team, whose aim is to “change the dynamic of visiting the Moken village from the uninvited onlooker to the respectful guest.” The Moken Tourism Team supports research, and will also provide travel advice to promote a respectful interaction.

Stay in Bangkok: 539.81 THB = $15.00Per Night x3 nights

One Way flight from Detroit to Bangkok27274.61 THB = $761.00

Bus from Bangkok to Khura Buri [8.5hrs]:

Round-Trip Ferry from Khura Buri to Surin Islands: 10000 THB = $27.90

Stay on Surin Islands: 1000 THB = $30.00 Per Night x4 nights

Bus to Phuket, Thailand:140 THB = $3.91

[Leg 1] TOTAL: $973.00

March 1-8, 2016

[Leg 2] Orang LautThe Orang Laut are the “Sea Gypsies” occupying the Riau Islands of Indonesia. Originally feared as sea pirates patrolling surrounding ports, the Orang Laut have long since been indoctrinated into the Malay community and adopted their language and culture. Today, the remaining tribes live simplistic lifestyles in fishing communities south of Singapore.

One Way flight from Phuket to Singapore72.62 SGD = $51.00

Stay in Singapore: 28.48 SGD = $20.00Per Night x2 Nights

Ferry to Palau Batam [Riau Islands Province]: 641586.80 IDR = $45.00

Island Hopping via Water Taxi: 60000 IDR Per Ride = $5.00 x[10+ Rides]

Palau Batam: x2 nights

Palau Sugi: x1 night

Palau Bintan: x2 nights

Palau Lingga: x1 night[Average accommodations of 712874.22 IDR/ day = $50.00]

The second leg of travel begins with a flight from the southernmost point of Thailand across Malaysia to the metropolis Republic of Singapore. The global city-state is an innovative, competitive city filled with cutting-edge examples of contemporary architecture and engineering. During my time in Singapore, it is my intent to pay a visit to The School of Architecture – National University of Singapore to speak with Dr. Widodo Johannes. Johannes is an accomplished architect with extensive knowledge of the history, morphology, and typologies of architecture in the Indo-Malay region.

Singapore also serves as a secure home base to explore the Orang Laut fishing villages scattered across the Riau Islands Province 50 km south. While in the Riau Archipelago, I intend on visiting Habitat for Humanity Indonesian Cabang Batam and interviewing Board of Directors member Jimmy Masrin who has access to a plethora of information representing the region’s interests and needs of low-income families and housing.

[Leg 2] TOTAL: $485.00

March 9-17 2016

[Leg 3] BadjaoBadjao or Bajau meaning “man of the seas” is a tribal group primarily from the Philippines. Initially, my intent was to study the Badjao culture in their indigenous residences in the Sulu Archipelago between the Philippines and Malaysia, but the risk of danger in the area is far too high and the United States has restricted travel to these islands. For this reason, I chose to follow a group of the Badjao who have migrated to Indonesia’s much safer Central Sulawesi.

One Way flight from Singapore to Palu:4018467 IDR = $282.00

The final portion of travel moves 3,000km east to the Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. Landing in Palu, public transportation grants access to the city of Ampana in Central Sulawesi. Here, a ferry can take visitors to the Palau Togean National Park, where a group of Badjao have been encouraged by local government to establish a houses and settlements along the shorelines. At Togean National Park, The Togean Islands Tour Information group can provide all necessary information to access these unique groups of people.

Besides those located in Togean National Park, many Badjao tribes are found in nearly every province of Sulawesi. The wide-spread distribution of the Badjao is just another effect of their way of life, which is always being on the move.

To conclude the trip, I will travel along the Tomini Gulf towards the tip of North Sulawesi where I will connect with my flight returning to the United States.

Travel to Kepulauan Togean National Park: 110579 IDR = $7.76

Stay on Palau Togean: 256497 IDR Per Night = $18.00 x4 nights

Travel Across Central/North Sulawesi: 854993 IDR = $60.00

One Way Flight from Sulawesi to Detroit:$1,416.00

[Leg 3] TOTAL: $1,838.00

March 17-23, 2016

[1]+[2]+[3] TOTAL: $3,296.00 USD*Any and all costs exceeding the fellowship amount of $3,000.00 is to be covered by Breck.

Moken

Orang Laut

Badjao

The water is their essence of life - transportation, sustenance, safety, welfare, life, and death. Thus the water determines their architecture and their flexible ways of life. I am interested in further researching the relationship between human ecologies and their natural environment – how they grow, how they negotiate one another, how they sustain their relationship through their simplistic living.

On a larger scale, experiencing their living could explain the scope of human life in such mobile conditions. Studying groups of people who have spent their entire existence in flux can not only teach use the usefulness and benefits of mobility, but also the limitations of ever-changing developments.

As proposed, each of the three ‘legs’ of travel begins with a larger metropolitan city and climaxes with targeted research of the original topic of interest. This allows the chance to experience extreme systems of architecture from large contemporary buildings down to third-world residencies.

If I had a week to explain how studying indigenous culture and buildings in three different countries abroad has educational value, then I would still be talking a week from now. To be able to experience architecture on a level that most people will never come across in their entire life is truly a privilege and an opportunity. I can only hope that given the chance, I could use the knowledge gained from this trip to inform my own practice as a designer and architect. The ability to learn responsive, logical gestures of design influenced by nomadic groups across the world is an invaluable experience.

While researching abroad, I will refer back to my ten topics of interest and systematically apply them to a larger map of Southeast Asia – comparing patterns of each group’s role within their community and their ‘indigenous’ way of living. Following their discontinuances and alterations on the map will show growing, shrinking, or movement towards or against larger hubs of technology and infrastructure. In the book, I will discuss highlights learned from each group in the form of info-graphics that inform the audience of “ah-ha moments,” where we can discover critical gestures from these nomadic people’s lifestyle.

In a world where architecture is constantly progressing towards complication, the lessons learned by the simplistic lifestyle of these tribes can be taken back to the educational realm of architecture. Each of the three ethnic groups will be documented by photos, sketches, transposed conversations, possibly even models that highlight distinct characteristics and context while retaining their inherent connections with one another. For both educational and personal reasons, I propose to keep a documentation of my research in the format of a book. Concluding travel, I will compile all products of my research into a printable document which will be made readily available to anyone who shares interest in the information that I gather during my time abroad.

Furthermore, a large component and personal interest of this research are tectonic details that these groups use in construction. What makes their architecture mobile? What materials allow flexibility of use, and resilience in reconstruction? In the book, I will overlay an additional layer of information which can teach us specific uses for materials and construction methods of these indigenous tribes.

The book will serve as an implement to carry out a formal presentation at Lawrence Tech. During the presentation, I will discuss the book’s content while including a narrative of my personal interactions and experiences during travel.

I would expect and hope to return from this excursion with a further developed world-view and understanding of cultural and environmental influences on architecture. I also hope that this study will provide me with an extended understanding of unorthodox construction, which will continue to influence my personal design philosophy. Again, thank you for the honorable opportunity to present my thoughts and ideas in this proposal for the Traveling Fellowship in honor of Dr. Pellerin.

Sincerely,

Breck Edward Norman Crandell

Lastly, before embarking on such a journey, I would like to sit down with University of Michigan Professor Etienne Turpin. As a Research Fellow for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Etienne’s research considers the consequences of climate change on urban settlements and develops potential design responses. Dr. Turpin is Principal Investigator of the Architecture + Adaptation: Designing for Hypercomplexity research initiative, which explores architecture’s potential response to inundation in Southeast Asian megacities. In the spring of 2012, Dr. Turpin helped lead the INDUNDATION Bangkok/Jakarta research studio for Taubman College.

Etienne is not only a lecturer in architecture at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Design, but he is also founding editor of the architecture, landscape, and political economy journal Scapegoat; he is a sustainability research expert for the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute; and, his research, writing, and other public projects are collected online at www.ANEXACT.org.

Anexact office operates on the shifting conceptual and physical terrain of the Anthropocene through the study of urbanization processes, knowledge infrastructures (i.e. collections, archives, collaborative research platforms), practices of solidarity, and emergent data polities; our work appropriates various forms and operates across heterogeneous scales and diverse modes. The office is operates as both a vehicle for inquiry and a platform for the co-production of mutual aid.