PACK UP Plug In: AND
Car Charging away From Home . . .
When
oil has peaked and electric cars become ubiquitous, a charging infrastructure for them will come along for the ride. Often this will be little more than a plug at home or in parking lots outside places of work and consumption. But what about in the wilderness where there are no plugs?
Rather than forgo distant and remote travels, they should now be undertaken with less guilt! This thesis proposes a model for self supporting stations serving tourists and adventurers needing a plug and waiting on a charge. Located in the Taiga near the James Bay, where substantial portions of Quebec’s, and even Boston’s power originate, it is a mirage of the city living under and feeding off of the transmission lines powering distant metropolises.
and anything else
the
Site
The map at left attempts to illustrate three places at three scales in one graphic: the contient, the region, and the site. At the continental scale are four major cities, the trace of a transmission line, the nodes where high voltage transmission lines cross roads (see opposite for simplification and image below for context), and an outline. Inset within the outline are three local maps: the site, and two of the locales at the ends of the transmission line— Radisson and Boston—are inset within the line cut corridor. Far right opposite is an exploded detail of this map, showing site and regional references. The line cut suggests distant locations: it is a corridor of projection.
Detail at the local and regional level. The site and its immediate context are in the exploded map. The45 0 kV regional elements operHV DC ate at the continental scale of this map. These include the network of reservoirs supplying power to the major cities shown on the main map, the three primary roads in the James Bay Region, and the regional settlements. s me Ja
Detail of main map, opposite left. The large blue dot is the site. Major locations are shown in relation to each other, the 450 kV DC transmission line between Radisson and Boston, and a network of potential other sites (red dots) where high voltage transmission lines intersect the road network.
y Ba
73 5
ad Ro
AC
St at io n:
kV
RADISSON
Ne xt
55
km
Tr
Tia ans
ga
Roa
d
TRANS TIAGA JUNCTION Charging Station MAX CAPACITIES: charging cars: 80 beds: 40 dinning chairs: 125 cinema seats: 200 tatooing stations: 6
RADISSON Next Station: 544 km
TTR km 141 charging station 525 km to Caniapiscau
charging station 750 km to Montreal via Val d’Or
BOSTON
AC
MATAGAMI
kV
MONTREAL
5
u
73
850 km to Quebec via Chibougamo
QUEBEC
James Bay Road
charging station
450 kV HVDC
NEMASCA
Cut Development
Transmission lines fill cuts in the forest, ignoring all but the most intraversible geographical features as they cut the shortest paths between points of generation and points of distribution. These cuts are ideal sites for charging stations. They are already cleared, and the lines themselves suggest distant travel and remote locations as they slice through the landscape and disappear over the horizon.
Site exerpt from map on previous pages.
1
A patch of forest in the Tiaga . . .
2
. . . is clear cut in a linear swath . . .
3
. . . through which transmission lines run.
Silhouette Generation Line cuts in the wilderness are broad due to free land and a high threat of forest fire.
The diagrams below show the potential evolution of a charging station within the space of a wilderness line cut. Its breadth is filled to create a structure that must be engaged. The orthogonality is a counterpoint to the rolling landscape. This structure is then further developed by the transmission lines passing through and over it.
4
The lines and their cut define an area . . .
5
. . . which is eroded by their electromagnetic field . . .
6
. . . and cut into by each cable.
Project the
In unsettled places without electrical distri-
bution grids, charging stations will not only be capable of charging cars with power they source or produce themselves. They must also be capable of occupying travelers while they wait for their cars to charge, their batteries to be swapped, or while they simply take a break from the very long road. These stations will be desinations unto themselves.
Top image is a peeled section, with elevation in winter on left, melting to summer, then peeling to reveal different aspects of the interior. The red lines in the plan and section correlate, and indicate where the cuts are taken.
Conceptual Section Cut For this station—located over 500 km from civilization
for travelers driving North—cars drive into pods and are literally plugged into a grid to charge. Power is sourced through induction: the building steals its power from the lines above. Formally it evokes turbine halls and citiy skylines, while the program is a projection of the metropolises the lines power so far away. It is a hub of culture in the wild and a destination on its own. One can select a pod for a quick charge, spending a day, or even a night or few.
Building Elements
Devices
Induction Coil: copper coils that wrap the exterior structure of the building. Serves the dual purpose of taking power from the electromagnetic fields of the transmission lines while also protecting the occupants from those fields.
Cores and Gantry Cranes: the central core houses a wide ramp around a void, providing venues for art. The smaller core makes art of the building’s electrical system. The gantry cranes move the pods throughout the structure.
Program Pods: all program—from charing rooms to stairs—exists within mobile pods, which are plugged into a central structural and service spine. Thus the building is almost completely reconfigurable.
Structures
Exterior Structure: contains two layers to support the charging coil on the exterior and the gantry cranes on the interior.
Roadway Conduits: provide points of entry into, and passage through the structure. It is here that vehicles needing a charge will drive into an open charging pod and be picked up by the gantry crane and plugged into the armature.
Pod Armature: the structural and service spine running down the center of the building. All pods plug into and cantilever off of it. They mate with receptacles which provide them with power, heat, and water, while removing waste. It also supports half the load of the gantry cranes. It is structurally robust to resist the strong moment of the cantilevered pods.
Station
from
Above
Drawings of Select Pods Large Charging Pod
Two Story Stair Pod
with
Berths
Pod Structure
and
Movie Theatre Pod
Mating
Section through four bay pod and pod armature. The pod walls are large trusses to support their extreme cantilever.
Pod Variations Charging Shop Theatre Studio Stairs Food Spa Info
Section Rendering
of
Large Charging Pod
Collage
of
Pod
and
Gantry Crane
Rendering of View from Gantry Crane
Rendering
of
Southern Approach
Rendered Overview
Physical Model Overview
Site Overviews
Physical model made of poplar and plexiglas. Poplar site was milled on a three axis CNC router; building was laser cut. Physical Model Overview
Physical Model Overview
Rendering of View from Central Core down Armature Corridor
Rendering
from
Top
of
Central Core Looking Down
Abstract Rendering
of
Central Core, Looking Up