Joana Rafael is an architect practitioner and Postdoctoral Researcher, specializing in ecological concerns related to pollution and contamination, both indoors and in urban planning. Her research explores the intersections of architecture and urbanism with human geography, environmental studies, and power dynamics, encompassing contemporary culture, media studies, art, and technology. She investigates the materiality and limits of physical infrastructures in relation to Earth's systems and the reciprocal relationships between humans and nature, with a particular focus on radiologically contaminated environments. Joana has taught Contextual Studies and Contemporary Culture-related courses at institutions including ESAP in Porto, ISCE Douro in Penafiel, Central Saint Martins in London, and the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury. She is a member of CEGOT (Center for Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning) and CEAA (Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo), and a co-founder of REFINERY BOARD. Joana holds a Master of Architecture and Urban Cultures from Metropolis, Barcelona, as well as a Master of Research Architecture and a PhD in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. She also earned a Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building Specialization certificate from Parsons School of Design, The New School. In addition to her academic pursuits, Joana is a certified farmer.
Ribeira da Pantanha, Urgeiriça
A Character in EdenX, a project by Joana Pestana e Mariana Pestana and an Online Platform for Discussion and Deliberation - that embodies a social model to rehearse a non-hierarchical and decentralized organization of nature.
Commissioned for Porto Design Biennale 2023.
Extract:
I am the Pantanha Stream, a small watercourse with a torrential nature. With just over 7 kilometres in length, I meander through a predominantly agricultural and forested landscape, following a gentle slope from the Beirão Plateau. My course carves through soils of granitic origin, nestled between the majestic Caramulo and Estrela mountain ranges, and flowing between the rivers Dão and Mondego, where I cascade into.
I serve as one of the central attractions within a network of pedestrian circuits established in the region's thermal resorts, aiming to promote the discovery of the local natural and cultural heritage.
Archaeological remains suggest that I may have once served as a border between a vicus metallum, an ancient Roman mining settlement that evolved into the village of Canas de Senhorim, and its necropolis.
Currently, the need for additional remediation measures to protect me, the health of both flora and fauna and public health in the region cannot be overstated. The necropolis is now downstream, along my watercourse and within my area of influence. I am intimately connected with all underground waters, and the root systems of plants and trees, and I provide hydration for the local animal life and agriculture fields.
I don't want to alarm you, but some species of fish, birds, and mammals feed on the water lentils that grow here, while bees are attracted to the white heather, and humans gather gorse. Few know that this plant biomass can remove heavy metals and radionuclides from aqueous environments through a passive and metabolism-independent process known as biosorption, which can result in the retention of material that causes detrimental effects on those who consume it.
Proposal 1.
Rather than causing alarm, I propose investing in this opportunity: to increase the population of wild ecosystem engineers, including native plant species that can absorb hazardous materials, as well as species that create niches for other wildlife and help protect the environment by mitigating contamination, recycling nutrients, and influencing land use and human practices.