Under Construction, Under Plastic
May 3, Turku
When drifting through the streets of Turku since I moved here, it’s hard not to notice construction sites on almost every block. If one isn’t visible, you can almost always hear the mechanical hum of a crane or excavator somewhere nearby. Plastic is everywhere, covering façades, wrapping materials, fencing off spaces, so common that it often fades into the background.
This week, I joined an online presentation by Erica Cirino (Plastic Pollution Coalition), Anne Nicklin (Reuse Studio), and Teresa McGrath (Habitable). They discussed Habitable’s report Buildings’ Hidden Plastic Problem on April 30, which reminded me how deeply plastic is embedded in construction practices.
Turku’s current construction boom makes all of this feel especially tangible during my sensory walks around the city. The theatre building is under renovation, roadworks are in progress, and new apartment blocks are rising. Even on my own street, a new building is under construction, wrapped tightly in layers of plastic. It feels like everywhere I turn, something is being built or rebuilt.
Because my research focuses on plastic waste and its entanglements, I find myself paying close attention to these materials. Over time, I’ve developed what I think of as a microplastic gaze. I notice plastic not only when it stands out but also when it blends in, becoming part of the scenery, the infrastructure, and the ordinary flow of daily life. And what strikes me again and again is how plastic, with its high adaptability, always seems to find a place for itself in every corner of the city.
This makes me pause and reflect: how much of the plastic that quietly shapes these building sites is already shaping, or will eventually shape, my everyday environment too? Through the air I breathe, the water I drink, and the spaces I move through day after day. It is a strange and familiar thought. Indoors and outdoors, the city is entangled in plastic, and our bodies seem to be tied to it as well.
#UrbanNature #CityWalks #SensoryEthnography #AtmosphericEncounters #DriftingInTheCity #MoreThanHumanWorld #Microplastics #PlasticEntanglements #PlasticEcologies #ThinkingWithPlastic #EmbodiedLandscapes #MaterialSensibilities #NonHumanRelations #EnvironmentalAffect