Taninim Stream

Shenkar - Engineering. Design. Art.

"Taninim Stream" is a group project that offers a glimpse into what our planet's flora and fauna will look like after The Anthropocene—the age of humanity—comes to an end. The project presents examples of species predicted or speculated to survive the climate crisis. It charts the course of each species' future evolution, including inter-species relationships and symbioses, and attempts to predict how these changes will affect the local landscape and soundscape. The species were chosen from the rich biodiversity of the Taninim Stream basin. Bearing the marks of past ecosystems and generations of human intervention, this area has been deemed particularly sensitive to the present and future implications of the current ecological crisis. While speculative in nature, the project is grounded in scientific projections regarding the upcoming ecological changes in the stream and the surrounding area, as well as existing botanical and zoological research about the chosen species' potential for adapting to these changes. The further into the future we venture, the more the speculations reflect humanity's hopes and fears.

Part science, part fiction, the results are an illusory, imaginative glimpse into what our nature could or might become: Holy brambles learned to grow in salty soil by producing salty berries as well as sweet ones; the night herons lost their nesting places when the oaks burned down, so they grew thicker beaks to carve their nests into the rocky hillside and started using the salty berries to preserve fish; the amphipods (tiny crustaceans) have learned to absorb microplastics, incorporating them into their bodies in a long evolutionary process; the dragonflies change the patterns on their wings to communicate with the shrimp, signaling to them which parts of the stream need cleaning; the reeds have evolved into two distinct species, one black (because of frequent wildfires) and one white (because of rising water salinity), transforming the Taninim basin into a stark black-and-white landscape.

This project's value goes beyond its end products. To understand its full scope, we must look at the students' creative process. The project's participants—design students—had to step into the skin of animals and plants, learning to take on nature's point of view and communicate its experiences outward. To do this, the students played a game developed especially for this project, with rules similar to the ones that govern inter-species relationships in nature. Abiding by these rules helped weaken the effect of the students' distinct professional disciplines on their work. By working with scholars and experts in relevant scientific fields, the students were able to examine their role in the project, asking not only "how" but also "what for." Their poetic reading of the narratives they created and processed expresses and enriches the scientific gaze by challenging proven facts through imaginative speculation.

The works included in this project are the fruits of a collaboration between three of Shenkar's departments: Visual Communication; Interior, Building & Environment Design; and the Master's Degree in Design Program. This project is part of the work conducted at PADLab—the Post-Anthropocene Design Laboratory. PADLab is a simulation-based creative play laboratory that exposes new possibilities for site-specific ecosystems in climate crisis scenarios. The project began as a collaboration between Shenkar College and The Department of Information Experience Design at The Royal College of Art (RCA).