BCA-I Manual

• the BCA-I is a large instrument, larger than A3 format. If you don’t have a copy, then you can contact us to send it to you. However, you can also print it yourself, on 100% scale and on high quality drawing paper. At the end, the BCA-I is an instrument to draw maps.
• The use of the BCA-I is not fixed and can be interpreted differently. But there is a structure to follow. The first part is the Border Map, together with the Legend, Border Information, Border Projection and Fieldnotes. The second part is the Border Stretching, together with the Subject Legend, Border Manifestation Description and the Context Drawing. This second part functions horizontally, strip by strip.
• First things first, let’s start with the first part.
• The legend allows to use a general language for the general parts in the map on the right.
• The beginning and ending of your BCA, to be indicated with a black dot.
• You might have experienced a ‘sudden change’ on your BCA. If so, indicate this with a ‘crossed line’ on the map. Or maybe the transition is more smoothly, then use the dots indicated by deviation.
• You also must add elements to the legend. Such as the scale, the total distance and the orientation. It is important to know that the verticality of the border and the horizontality of the BCA is leading and not the orientation of the map.
• The Border Information next to the legend is some kind of ‘administrative’ and factual information such as your name, the location, the date, the mode of transportation, the speed and the weather conditions.
• Next to the Border Information there is a bigger box to draw the Border Map. Take your time to do this carefully because it relates the border experiences to a specific location. As such it forms the basis of the rest of the map. There are a few rules to follow:
• Make sure you adjust the scale of the map so that the whole BCA fit in the box, almost at maximum width of the box.
• Make sure that the border is vertically positioned and therefor the BCA more or less horizontally.
• Draw the administrative border as indicated in the legend, a mixed dotted line.
• Add extra lines and textures that are specific for that location such as a river, railway or a highway. It makes the map more recognizable and easier to orientate on.
• Next to the Border Map box there is room for Fieldnotes. Use this box to add extra notes which enable a better understanding of the context of the border and specific things that happened during the BCA that influenced the border experience.
• Before moving on to the second part of the BCA-I an important box needs to be filled in, namely the Border Projection box. That is the place where the BCA walk gets projected into a simple horizontal line using helplines between the actual walk on the map in the Border Map box and the points you indicate on the horizontal line in the Border Projection box. At this moment the actual physical map gets transformed and prepared to add experiences to it. Every point that is important during the BCA should be indicated on the actual map in the Border Map box and linked to a point of choice on the horizontal line in the Border Projection box. Make sure that those points are chosen logically and according to the order of the walk. (This is the reason why you can only log a single BCA in the BCA-I).

The part below isn’t relevant for now, as you – as a participant of the Border Encyclopedia launch on Dec. 1st, only need to fill in the top part of the BCA-I. However, do not forget to look closely during your BCA and -for example- take pictures, notes or make sketches in order to not forget the border manifestations between performing the BCA and the event on Dec. 1st 🙂

• The second part contains the horizontal strips were the actual border experiences are mapped. The strips contain an equal number of boxes as the first part. The purpose is to link the Border Projection box and Border Map box of the first part to the Border Stretching box in the second part. It situates and localizes the experience. But let’s start with the box at the left side of the paper and move along to the right:
• Subject Legend contains the subject title of the strip and an optional legend. It is important that every strip contains only one border experience. So, use another strip for every different experience.
• Besides the Subject Legend, the Border Manifestation Description allows to describe the specificity of the border experience and add extra detail to the border experience.
• The Border Stretching box is the box that asks the most creative effort to fill in.
  Firstly, it is connected to the Border Map. Before starting to draw the border experience, the border itself (the mixed dotted line) needs to be drawn vertically through the Border Stretching box.
  Secondly, use helplines to pull the points of the horizontal line important for this border experience from the Border Projection box into the Border Stretching Box. As such, those points are vertically on one line and connected with a helpline between the Border Stretching box, through the Border Projection box all the way to the Border Map box.
  Thirdly, represent the border experience in the box according to the important points (which actually are locations in the Border Map box). The more creativity added to this box the better. If necessary, the Inspiration Booklet is there to help.
• The last box is the Context Drawing box. It allows the border crosser to draw an atmospheric image of the experience and location.
• Add as much strips as necessary to draw all the border experiences separately. One page contains five strips but do not let the page be a limitation and simply add an extra BCA-I grid below if needed.