SPECULATING DISTRIBUTED ARCHITECTURE air SUPERIOR, ARIZONA [mining town]
surface
ground
Through a comprehension of what has and is presently happening to the landscape of Superior, we speculate that the lack of sound infrastructure will ultimately consume the all that remains within the next half century. In order to sustain any existence of what was, we must produce an architecture to reinforce history and presence. By creating a network of responses to existing conditions that contributed to the decay within the city, we can extend the deteriorating lifespan of Superior by projecting its story after its physical existence disappears.
After documenting several sites in Superior, Arizona, a complex relationship between ground, surface, and air rights was uncovered. Each site visually exposes a condition and utilizes it to help develop the story that will transcend the life of the town.
RESIDENTIAL DOWNTOWN PROTRUSIONS
VIEWFINDERS
BAKERY
BAKERY
RUINS
The architectural network is represented by a series of responses that are mapped above. Each response is conditioned by the immediate contextual conditions of the individual sites, while also contributing to a larger scheme of ground, surface, and air rights.
In the diagnosis of the town, it was crucial to recognize the role of key points of infrastructure. We realized that as these points are debilitated by the conditions of the town, the buildings around these points begin to fallout. The bakery performs as a demonstration of this effect. It’s copper frame pays reverence to the original infrastructure while a reflective copper panel is installed to reflect the crumbling of the community.
DOWNTOWN
BUILDING OVERHANG MIMICKED PEDESTRIAN PRESERVATION Downtown serves as another point of crucial infrastructure for the town of Superior. Its pedestrian corridor is crucial to the experience of Main Street, as building overhangs project from the facades and provide cover for people as they pass through. The response was to mimic the overhang typology and maintain the corridor as the downtown loses its integrity through the loss of the original typology.
8’0” DATUM
MAIN STREET PEDESTRIAN PRESERVATION
TURNBUCKLE WELDED WEDGE TAB
SLIDING CONNECTION
AIRPLANE CABLE
TUBULAR STEEL COLUMN
RESIDENTIAL
The residential site exposes the issue of land subsidence as a result of intensive mining. As time passes on, the residential frames installed on the site will be subject to changes in the underground. Since the changes underground can’t be seen directly, the frames are detailed in a manner that will document the passing of time and surface the underground processes. 2015 2040 2060 2080 2100
RESOLUTION COPPER MINING OVERBURDEN
PROTRUSIONS
A huge chunk of mining overburden rests in the northeast of Superior and hovers directly over government owned land. A series of simple geometric volumes are inserted into the overburden to simulate an experience of what it is like to be inside of the mines that have consumed the minerals beneath the surface of Superior. Each volume offers an expansive view to key points in Superior’s landscape.
PRIVATE PROPERTY UNDER ARS 13-1502 A.1
RUINS
Floating directly over a site of ruins, this response is designed to alter the perception of people as they inhabit the ruins. A simple walkway directs attention towards crucial points of context and uses the geometry of copper panels to alter people’s horizons. The structure delicately touches down on the site as to not disturb the existing ruins.
VIEWFINDERS [HYBRID]
RUINS [AIR]
DOWNTOWN [AIR] RESIDENTIAL [GROUND]
BAKERY [SURFACE] TUNNELS [GROUND]
VIEWFINDERS
COPPER PANELS WITH STRUCTURAL WIDE FLANGE
smelter US60 church
US60 post office main street apache leap
downtown
housing apache leap high school mining shafts
residential
smelter overburden apache leap residential
tunnels
US60 post office main street apache leap
ruins
all above
ADE 422: Spring 2015 Architectural Studio IV
bakery
Positioned at a higher elevation than any of the other responses, the viewfinders are a cartographic system that map the physical location of each response within the town. As people overlook Superior, they are offered visual cues as to where each response can be located. Each viewfinder is designed specifically to the response it maps and also depicts how each response deals with the properties of ground, surface, and air.
viewfinders
Students: Siqi Ding, Rebecca Manhardt, Kelton Spresser Instructor: Christian Stayner