This studio, entitled “Absurd Realities” led by Professor Andrew Madl intended to provoke discourse on design as research and how such work is represented as well as disseminated within the field of landscape architecture. The studio investigated the entanglements and landscape responses to unexecuted, non-fictional US Military/Government proposals. These proposals, arguably, fell into realms of absurdity that were encouraged by expedient innovation brought on by wartime stressors. Reasoning behind the preposterous schemes varied, but the seemingly ad hoc nature of the concepts navigates both low-res and high-res technologies that are reminiscent of the periods in which they were intended to operate.

Our fictionalized operation was inspired by a true if but rather unconventional chapter in military history, the failed U.S. Military project, Project ORCON - or Project Pigeon - which deployed highly trained pigeons to guide missiles during World War II before electronic guidance was readily available. It was the brainchild of behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner was widely researched and proved that it could be successful. However in 1955, all funding ceased as the idea sounded too ridiculous, and the government felt resources would be better spent developing electronic guidance systems. Since then, in our reality, these birds, renowned for their uncanny cognition, navigational abilities, and keen visual acuity, have been harnessed for a host of military applications.