A-political Island, Irelands Living Space

A-political Island is a project that aims to adjust the way people imagine and visualize the physical form of society created by those who live on it through defining the living space of the island. Ireland is a compact island. Island Life, and the Living Space we've created on it is a basic conditioning aspect of this society.  The kind of living space we have created of the island is unique; we know very little about it, this island and what exactly we've done to it.

Fundamentally this research project lifts all of the boundaries that define the extent of disciplinary / governance / infrastructure remit, and looks at Living Space the way people experience it – as one continuous place. Lifting the boundaries allowed the region to be analysed at a variety of levels simultaneously; transportation (movement), energy, education, land use, nature, environment. In this synthetic way of looking at how the physical environment interacts with itself, and society in general, some new ideas will develop.

The IU will create new visual data describing Ireland's Living Space. Research will centre around two counties as pilot sites, Mayo and Fingal. Additional data from the surrounding counties will also be used. The chosen sites have conditions which vary greatly, and share some similarities. Fingal County contains Ireland's major airport, while Mayo is the site of a new and highly controversial natural gas pipeline.