EUPHONIOUS TREMORS KATHERINE KOKOSKA
Architecture Thesis Carnegie Mellon University Spring 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract 1-2
Proposal 3-4 Site Documentation Geological Movement 5-8 Olema, California 9-10 Methods Panto-tree 11-14 Generation Monoliths 15-16 Beautiful Decay 17-20 Bibliography 21
Messages to the Future 22
ABSTRACT Time Does Not Care Preserving the past is almost as uncertain as predicting the future, however, global warming, massive consumer cultures, and our exponentially increasing population have made the future on planet Earth seems destined for disaster. It is through this catastrophic lens that my architectural thesis will be indifferent to the crises caused by modern civilization, and yet dynamic to its problems as time goes by. The boundaries of architecture are continually shifting, and my project responds to this flexibility by its location on a notoriously hazardous site, the San Andreas Fault. If a building is to last hundreds of years into the future, decay and destruction are predicted in this vexing timescale. These relics create architectural fantasias that speak to us through their layers of history, blurring what is fact and what is fiction. “The ideas ruins evoke in me are grand. Everything comes to nothing, everything perishes, everything passes, only the world remains, only time endures.� -Denis Diderot
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PROPOSAL Euphonious Tremors
California and earthquakes will forever be associated with one another. The San Andreas Fault tears through the state, placing San Francisco on the North American plate headed south, and Los Angeles on the Pacific Plate, headed north. The spontaneity of this geological feature is unpredictable, making it an icon where disaster itself is an attraction. The fault is constantly in motion. Small scale earthquakes happen daily along the landmasses, causing the plates to move in opposite directions at a rate of two inches per year. These gentle rumblings have integrated into the lifestyles of Californians, who accept that calamity can strike at any moment. There appears to be an endearing fondness towards the well-known troublemaker. The perpetual wandering of the San Andreas Fault has become the focus of my thesis project. Three different case studies placed on this location celebrate the journey of the earth over massive timespans. Each method responds to the movement through individually designed contraptions or concepts that have the ability to evolve over the years. Time and ruin are defining concepts of these projects, as they have the ability to communicate with the future. Nostalgia is embedded in the proposals, giving the architecture an identity rich with sentimental emotions. The projects grow, change, and break-down over their lifespans in unique ways which define their purpose, for however long the San Andreas Fault intends them to function. Then they become ruins for future generations to fascinate about, allowing the imagination to take over the architecture.
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The average rate of motion across the San Andreas Fault is about TWO INCHES PER YEAR. At this rate, Los Angeles and San Francisco could be pushed together as neighbors in approximately 15 MILLION YEARS.
SAN ANDREAS FAULT
seismic hazard zones low page 5
earthquakes in a typical day high
2.5-3.2 1.7-2.4 0.9-1.6 0.0-0.8
1,000 year timespan 166.6 feet of motion
San Francisco 4/18/1906
San Fernando 2/9/1971
Hayward Fault 10/21/1868
Owens Valley 3/26/1872
Northridge 1/17/1994
Kern County
Long Beach
7/21/1952
3/10/1933
Wrightwood 12/8/1812
Volcano Lake, BC 11/21/1915
most notorious earthquakes in Califonia’s history
6.0-6.4
6.5-6.9
7.0-7.4
7.5-7.9
8.0-8.4
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napa valley
OLEMA point reyes national seashore
north american plate
berkeley
pacific plate
san francisco
SAN ANDREAS FAULT
Masterplan 1� = 5 miles page 7
INFRASTRUCTURE
AGRICULTURE
HYDROLOGICAL
RECREATION
40 highways 677 roads 1 railroad 1 airport
10 lakes 9 streams 1 river 2 reservoirs 2 bays 7 siphons
20 farms 5 vineyards 1 quarry
4 campgrounds 93 hiking trails 3 schools 1 university
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panto-tree
generation monoliths
beautiful decay
OLEMA, CALIFORNIA 38°02′27″N 122°47′17″W The San Andreas Fault came dramatically into existence on April 18th, 1906, when 7.9 magniture earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay region. The epicenter of this disaster was originally thought to be in Olema because of the huge fault ruptures in the ground’s surface that are still visible to this day. Later it was proven that the epicenter was south of San Francisco, but it was Olema that immortilized an image of the power of the San Andreas Fault with the above photograph of a lady next to an enormous crack. This legendary community is the site for my proposed interventions. Located to the east of the fault, Olema is a small town with a few small shops, restraurants, bed and breakfasts, and campgrounds. To the west is the Point Reyes National Seashore, a popular tourist destination for nature and wildlife enthusiasts. This headland is a peninsula, unusually shaped by the movement of the San Andreas Fault over eons.
Site Plan 1” = 500’ page 10
PANTO-TREE Contracting Elevated Walkway A Pantograph is a tracing tool used to enlarge or reduce a drawing with precision. The mechanism is assembled with pivoting joints connecting ‘X’ shaped structures. This idea is adaptable to the shifting motion of the San Andreas Fault through their construction: rotating pin joints. The pin rotates about a foci, morphing the shape of the overall form with each adjustment. Initially, I created chaotic and randomly made pantographs with needles and basswood, and then reworked the models so they could respond to the mobility of the site. The pantographs were recorded incrementally, showing which area gets afftected by the right lateral movement of it’s home.
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Redwood trees are one of the oldest species on this planet. The PantoTree uses the beloved ancient redwood trees of California as anchors for the instrument. The device provides access 30’ above ground with a flexible pantograph-inspired walkway (basswood). The scaffold is fabricated around the tree, and is able to dynamically morph with the movement of the San Andreas Fault because of rotating disks (needles) under the observation pads. The disks continue to reorganize the walkways in variations of its orginal shape with each techtonic shift. At the crossroads of the walkways the disk rotates without being connected to the ground allowing the system to react to the San Andreas Fault’s antics.
rotating disk embedded under crossroads
walkway
scaffold and rotating observation pad constructed around redwood
Plan 1’ = 1/80� page 12
san andreas fault
today
year 2112
year 2212
rotating disk
year 2312
Elevation 1’ = 1/8� page 13
year 2412
year 2512
year 2312
year 2412
year 2512
rotating disk
Plan 1’ = 1/8” page 14
GENERATION MONOLITHS Time Recording Landscape Every one hundred years, a monolith will align and interact with a partner across the fault line. They are separated sixteen feet from eachother in a rhythmic and consistent order. The green walls on the periphery of the earth sculpture are positioned at each monolith’s halfway mark, creating another layer of information to this inhabitable clock. In 500 years from now, each monolith will be facing a partner. In 1,000 years none of the monoliths will be aligned, as they will have already passed eachother.
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SAN ANDREAS FAULT
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BEAUTIFUL DECAY Future Ruin Being only 106 years old, the San Andreas Fault has yet to show mankind the full extent of it’s capabilities. Having a destructive reputation has made the crack seem a menace to society. By building a giant shell stradling the fault line, the architecture becomes immediately reactive to the energy of the earth. It embodies every moment of catastrophe along the journey, and translates it through its incomplete form and materiality. The building itself is a ruin of the history of Planet Earth. The shell is made of thick stone masonry, and is able to dilapidate in pieces, still suggesting its original and simple square form. The ruin is constantly changing because of the fault movement, making each visit a different experience than the previous one. It is a site to explore, remember, and investigate. I have chosen to represent this idea in a futuristic setting, centuries later than today. The fault has completely severed the architecture in two pieces, each beginning their endless migration in separate directions. It is an experiement yet to be examined by architects, as it is certain to approach with snail-like speed its destiny as a tomb.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Websites Cited http://wn.com/Earth’s_Palaeogeography__Continental_Movements_through_Time http://www.marinwatersheds.org/ http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/car-jack-planet-counterquake.html http://geology.com/san-andreas-fault/ http://www.uaff.us/the_svalbard_global_seed_vault.htm http://www.croptrust.org/main/arcticseedvault.php?itemid=211 http://emergentstudiotr.blogspot.com/2010/12/pascals-lost-wager-precedent.html http://www.livescience.com/8346-unlocking-mysteries-san-andreas-fault.html
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