Focus on: Lichen

One thing I noticed about the site was how shady it was, bar the artificial light. I was also fascinated by the large amount of weathered materials there, even though the Station is no longer in use at is used to be, this amount of deterioration was surprising. Lichen was notably abundant all over the concrete/stone rail in which I planned to place my design.

It appears lichen can grow in any extreme climate, however it favours heavy moisture (Auckland has very high rainfall) as well as shade, which are both obvious factors in my sight, hence the abundance of lichen. However, despite the fact that lichen is considered unsightly on architecture (and consistently removed with a sort of bleach and sand mix) it is actually a very useful organism. A mix of algae and fungus, it is often used for medicines and dyes. This is another example of how weathering on a material could have positive effects on the architecture. This merits further exploration.