The project LAVA LOOP is located on São Jorge Island. After years of confrontation and compromise between humans and nature, the people of São Jorge Island have reached a harmonious balance with nature. But seismic activity over the past year could trigger catastrophic volcanic events that could upset the balance between ecosystems and social systems.
São Jorge Island has three basic contradictions: Authorities attach great importance to this area because the earthquake that has lasted for a year may lead to a volcanic eruption at any time.; excessive soil pollution caused by extensive livestock husbandry; and the response of the local population to monoculture varieties. Based on these three contradictions, the concept of LAVA LOOP emerged. Taking geological cycle as a cycle, lava loop is divided into five different stages to strengthen the connection between human and nature on the premise of ensuring people's life safety: assume that the last volcanic eruption is phase 5, and the lengthy natural restoration is phase 1, which is the current situation of the site. The design of lava Loop project focuses on phase 2, 3 and 4:
Phase2 is the highest priority emergency installation: adding emergency ports at appropriate sites. To ensure residents' lives, immediately find escape routes and the nearest shelter in an eruption.
Phase3: Adjust the agricultural production structure, build community vegetable plots to meet the daily life of residents, and change a small number of pastures around the community into agricultural and animal husbandry rotation mode. Seasonal crop rotation is adopted to produce agricultural and sideline products, and the original farm production mode is changed to crop rotation.
Phase4: Natural restoration mode, establishment of crater protected areas, restoration of part of pasture to old-growth forest by gradually digging out invasive species, restoration of old-growth forest, and restoration of higher-elevation farms to more manageable forest grazing mode. Provides higher economic and ecological value.
This is the main strategy for the whole cycle. Four representative sites were selected for further elaboration to address the different phase strategies.