MEGAvin

FINAL RENDERINGS

2007-07-07T20:05:00.000-04:00

closer....

2007-07-05T19:28:00.000-04:00

getting closer

2007-07-05T16:31:00.001-04:00

near final rendering

2007-07-03T22:11:00.001-04:00

update

2007-06-23T12:46:00.001-04:00

model update

2007-06-02T13:44:00.001-04:00

Hey Guys,
  Just wanted to let you know that the bottom 8' of the model is coming
along.  I'm modeling every component separately so hopefully we can use
it for more than just a few renderings.  I've still got to add the front
wall sips, polycarbonate, and a few other details like doors/windows etc.
I should be finished with it soon.

vinnie

architecture magazine

2007-01-11T15:46:00.000-05:00

proposal: Tsunami (resistant) Architecture

2006-12-19T12:32:00.000-05:00

It was late on the morning of April 1, 1946, and on the island of Hawaii, children from the school at Laupahoehoe Point were the first to see the Pacific Ocean disappear. They watched, awestruck, as 500 feet of sand and coral emerged glistening into the sunshine. A few of the braver ones ventured out onto the exposed reef. Suddenly the water came roaring back, sweeping away the children along with the buildings near the shore and the entire waterfront of nearby Hilo. For nine hours, a teacher, 21-year-old Marsue McGinnis, clung to a piece of driftwood before she was spotted by her fiance, who had mounted his own rescue in a borrowed motorboat. "I saw a number of children floating near me, clinging to wreckage," she said. "We just kept floating out to sea, and some of the children disappeared." Five hours earlier, an earthquake had erupted under the ocean floor off the coast of Alaska. Officials of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, a branch of the Commerce Department, knew what might be coming toward Hawaii, even if they didn't know enough to call it a tsunami. (msnbc.com)

A Tsunami is a significant global threat that can exist wherever there is a large body of water. A mega-tsunami, is a much larger scale disaster ranging anywhere from 30 ft to thousands of feet in height. These events occur when a very large amount of water is displaced all at one time. Examples of this displacement include a meteor impact or a LARGE scale landslide (in contrast to a tsunami which can be caused by earthquakes and plate subduction). The explosion of volcanos can also lead to a mega-tsunami as the land from the volcano rapidly displaces water. Mapped below are 3 active volcanos that are potential threats for megatsunami's. One in the Atlantic (La Palma, Canary Islands), one in the Pacific (Kilaueau, Hawaii), and one in the Indian ocean (Piton de la Fournaise, La Réunion Island).

The ripples do not represent the waves themselves but rather their travel times spreading from an origin, with each peak being approximately 400 miles apart. The wave travels at speeds in excess of 550 mph.

section relating distance traveled to height:

each hash mark on the arrow represents 1hr of travel time

The above image is an overlay of all 3 potential mega-tsunami locations

Interesting sites of wave interference were noted.

The following is a death map created using noteworthy historical tsunami's as data points. The largest points being locations where deaths exceeded 300,000 and the smallest being under 5,000. The areas of interference from the previous map were then overlayed to produce the image below.

Two areas overlapped, one of these being the Indian Ocean disaster of 2004. This tsunami was triggered by an underwater earthquake that registered with a magnitude of 9.3 on the Richter scale. It was the deadliest tsunami recorded in history and killed people in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Tsunami(resistant)Architecture is being proposed to provide housing and counteract the thousands upon thousands of deaths that occured in these regions due to structures being unable to withstand the destructive force of the tsunami. Below a typical Sri Lankan house is pictured.

These dwellings typically consist of 4 solid cement brick walls and are fairly susceptible to a tsunami.

Analysis of tsunami debris was conducted. It was noted that load-bearing walls perpendicular to the coastline, vertical elements of buildings, and bridge supports most often survived the tsunami waves. With this information as a starting point, and using these images to learn from the tsunami it was decided that a modular, structurally sound unit was needed as a starting point. The shipping container fulfills these requirements.

The container is manufactured with heavy-gauge Corten steel, is very sturdy and resistant to the elements. They are built to withstand the violent forces on the deck of a ship at sea. So it makes perfect sense to use them in constructing Tsunami(resistant)Architecture. Below are single and double units, comprised of a shipping container(s), steel bracing, and a column that alows for 360 degrees of rotation.

The rotation of the units is to allow them to by dynamic, and in the case of a tsunami, to be oriented perpendicular to it. This is done in order to put up the least resistance to the wave and to remain intact as a living space. During calm periods, or increments of time where there is no threat of a tsunami, the units will be organized based upon user preference, being optimized for livability, creating both internal and external spaces, and not necessarily perpendicular to an impending tsunami. An example of this is located in the cluster of units below.

This image represents a single cluster that is part of a much larger whole, consisting of hundreds or even thousands of these clusters stretching along a coastline.

While the containers in the "calm state" are oriented based upon user preference, the containers in the "tsunami state" are oriented perpendicular to the impending tsunami. This is illustrated below. The first image represents the calm state, while the second represents the tsunami state.

calm state

tsunami state

plan view of a calm state cluster (left) and a tsunami state cluster (right)

In order to orient the clusters perpendicular to a tsunami, you have to know where the tsunami is coming from. In order to do this, thousands of nodes will be placed in the ocean hundreds of miles offshore. These nodes will relay information such as direction and speed of a tsunami via satellite to the clusters on shore.

node detail

Tsunami(resistant)Architecture consists of 2 components, the clusters and the nodes. The nodes relay information, but also act as part of a public warning system. Upon alerting the clusters of the direction the tsunami is coming from the clusters orient themselves perpendicular to it, essentially pointing at the tsunami. This gives the comunity time to react to the situation and either evacuate the area or seek refuge. While acting as a beacon pointing to impending danger, to an extent, the clusters also protect the inland by breaking up the tsunami waves.

diagram portraying the relay of information

the clusters orienting themselves (the distance between the nodes and the clusters is shortened for representation)

Future Proposal: Archipelago of Surveillance

The nodes floating offshore could be applied and used to warn communities not only of impending tsunamis but of a variety of elements. These elements could be anything from other forms of natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes to issues such as refugee migration, military surveillance, drug trafficking, or even algae blooms. The nodes could be placed surrounding entire continents to act as a type of global warning system. Obviously there are many factors that must be addressed when creating this "archipelago of surveillance." Negative factors include potentially impeding migration routes and changing ocean ecologies, while the positive outcome would be a constant stream of information that allows the entire globe to react/adapt/change in response.

speculative image of surveillance archipelago

12.7

2006-12-07T03:03:00.000-05:00

process images

tRa (shipping containers)

2006-12-06T02:03:00.000-05:00

description/thought process will be added soon, recharging first...

12.4

2006-12-04T20:52:00.001-05:00

I think we've finally found a method for desk crits that is about as close we can get to having a professor physically in the studio with us. Using iChat and vyew in tandem is a great way to get instant feedback on your design ideas. During other reviews and crits it was difficult to accurately gauge the enthusiasm or lack of enthusiasm the reviewer had for your project. Either the video would lag, or we just wouldn't enable it at all because it was a hassle. As we learned yesterday, iChats video is very smooth and nearly lag-free, even from Italy to South Carolina. Being lag-free, it was easy to see what the professor likes and more importantly doesn't like about your project. The nature of the desk crit was different yesterday as the professor-Ron, Jason, and I all talked via iChat group chat. This is my preferred method of discussion. It was extremely helpful to have another student act as a reviewer, especially in this case as he helped me find a solution to a major flaw our professor found in my idea. It would be ideal to use iChat and vyew in tandem for the final review, of course this is all dependent upon the reviewers having access to a Mac.

Ron, Jason, and I having a group iChat crit

the major flaw, illustrated in vyew

death mapping

2006-12-04T15:39:00.001-05:00

mapping of the deaths caused by historical tsunamis

11.27

2006-11-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

layering

screenshot

2006-11-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

a screenshot on a typical day at the beginning of "virtual studio."

11.20

2006-11-20T13:07:00.000-05:00

Thoughts about a format for the final review...

Aside from a few minor glitches and disconnects, the process for the previous "live" review was successful.

Some suggestions:

having a professor in the room while we present (nostalgia factor?)
projects MEGAblogged ahead of time to familiarize the reviewers, due to a LARGE amount of foreign content
maybe the reviewers could also do some reading to familiarize (Corner articles?)

tsunami(resistant)housing

2006-11-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

PROPOSAL
According to the International Viewpoint after the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean of December 2004, the government of many affected countries such as Sri Lanka are not allowing rebuilding on the coast.

“No new building structures will be permitted within 100 metres of the Western coast of the island. In the Eastern coast the distance where the construction will be permitted has been extended to 200 metres. New towns will have to be built one kilometre from the coast.”

This announcement obviously upset the Sri Lankan community. To offset this decision and offer a possible solution I am proposing tsunami(resistant)housing.

Factors to consider:

low cost
modularity
expandability
ease of construcion
permability
protected safe area

The goal of tsunami(resistant)housing is to allow the tsunami waves to pass through the house by creating an open plan oriented perpendicular to the coast line.

Another idea I'm considering in creating housing resistant to tsunami force waves is the use of vegetation. According to Adam White of Soils & The Environment "The roots of the vegetation also help to reduce the likelihood of soil erosion by flowing surface water. The roots stabilize the soil, acting as an anchor that holds the soil in place."

SITE
tsunami(resistant)housing can be implemented in any coastal area under threat of a tsunami, for this proposal I am suggesting Sri Lanka as a case study as the governemt is already taking action to prevent a repeat of the 2004 disaster where more than 31,000 people were killed.

VIGNETTES

PROGRAM LIST

coastal housing
emergency alert/response center
social center
vegetation as foundation?

MASSING MODELS

NOTE
I've noticed an interesting trend while analyzing post-tsunami photographs. It seems that load-bearing walls perpendicular to the coast line vertical elements of buildings and bridge supports most often survived the tsunami waves.

MEGAtsunami

2006-11-17T15:34:00.001-05:00

After the online review I redirected my project to map one of the effects of a terrestrial impact, mainly the MEGAtsunami. Upon conducting some research I found out that the only way a MEGAtsunami is generated is by displacing a very large amount of water all at once. Examples include a meteor impact or a LARGE scale landslide (incontrast to a tsunami which can be caused by earthquakes and plate subduction). Upon further investigation I discovered that the explosion of volcanos can lead to this type of large scale water displacement as the land from the volcano rapidly displaces water. I located 3 active volcanos that are potential threats for megatsunami's. One in the pacific (La Palma, Canary Islands), one in the atlantic (Kilaueau, Hawaii), and one in the Indian ocean (Piton de la Fournaise,La Réunion Island). I set the disturb tool to "circular wave" and set the paramiters so that the wave will show the travel time of the MEGAtsunami, between each peak of the waves on my map is 1hr of travel time from the MEGAtsunami's origin. I have separated my earth mesh into different sections so that each spread can be seen clearly. The section relates the height of the potential MEGAtsunami to the travel time.

image showing the 3 potential megatsunami sitesmap showing travel time of the MEGAtsunami wave from t=0hrs to t=6hrssection relating distance traveled to height:

each hash mark on the arrow represents 1hr of travel time while the initial height of the wave is 700m
east elevation diagram showing densities of the wave forms

destruction mappings

mappimation

2006-11-03T11:59:00.001-05:00

2006-10-25T15:05:00.000-04:00

http://www.biothing.org/
poli::mat

10.25

2006-10-25T13:13:00.000-04:00

I recieved some very helpful comments after the review on Monday. The insight of the instructors was eye-opening and helped lead me in a new direction. Here is a review of some interesting points that were raised:

investigate how an impact effects different resistances (water vs. land vs. air)
moire's rebounding-->resistors producing rebounding
investigate wave form/wave distrubances
two simultaneous tsunami's?
resistances: dust settling; can these maps begin to have an identity/material quality that you can resist/ can different parts of the map react differently?
throw things at the "puddle that is the world"
ex: himalayas: concentrate waves? amplify? disperse?
who is spared?
what does an impact carry into the atmosphere?
multiple global scale events: palimpsest of various epicenters
many multiple scale events occuting simultaneously
evidence of flooding from some point, radiation from some point
scale of the ripple, thermonuclear...settlement
radiation tests from nuclear bombs
man made disasters; how they impact one another

There was a variety of comments and in continuing my mapping i hope to redirect my project to encorporate the bolded items.

10.23

2006-10-23T15:19:00.000-04:00

a Moiré formed by the outward spread of information from the point of origin collected from a terrestrial impact.

10.20

2006-10-20T16:53:00.000-04:00

here is an animation study of how i hope to 3-dimensionaly map the moire's created by terrestrial impacts.

-thanks to support@formZ.com for the tutorial

10.19

2006-10-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

my first semi-successful attempt at modeling a moire

10.16

2006-10-16T15:06:00.000-04:00

rendering of the disturbed earth mesh, a representation of the spread of a shock wave post impact.
detail of ripple
this image shows the comparasson of the regular earth mesh (pre-impact) to the disturbed earth mesh (post-impact)this image is a study of how to layer/combine information.
experimentation with controlled disturbance

10.15

2006-10-15T17:05:00.000-04:00

In reconsidering the assignment I've decided to construct a layering map. This map will condition how the earth as a whole reacts and exists through a terrestrial impact event. When an impact occurs many large scale processes take place including the displacement of atmoshpere, land, water (megatsunami's), the occurance of global firestorms, acid rain, temperature abnormalities, seismic shaking, ejecta deposition, air blasts, and thermal radiation.
This is a lot of information. For this mapping I have selected thermal radiation, ejecta deposition, and air blasts to use as information for layering ontop of a topographic mesh model of the earth (seen below). To gather data I have located a program created by scientists at the University of Arizona. This is a web-based program that calculates the effects of an earth impact. The program can be located here. Using this program I will relate my chosen processes in terms of distance from a given location on the earth. Essentially mapping how the effects of a terrestrial impact diminish as distance from the point of origin is increased.

2d land displacement animation

2006-10-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

landscape deformation

2006-10-09T16:49:00.001-04:00

earth animation

2006-10-09T01:49:00.000-04:00

this is the first step of the animation. next will be to animate a metorite colliding with the earth and deforming its surface.
earth animation

terrestrial impact craters

2006-10-08T18:01:00.000-04:00

On the surface, Earth doesn’t look nearly as abused as Mercury or the Moon. However, the earth has been struck by more than 10 times the amount of impacting objects. Over time this has produced approximately 3 million impact craters from 1 km in diameter to more than 1000 km in diameter. You would never see evidence of these impacts by simply studying the Earth’s surface due to geologic processes such tectonic plate subduction, mountain building, erosion, and volcanism. Mountain building crumples impact craters, plate subduction consumes them, erosion dissects them, and lava flows and sediments often bury them. These events essentially mask the effect of impact craters on our planet. As a result, only about 160 surviving impact craters have been found and documented so far. The most famous of these 160 impact craters is the 180 km diameter Chicxulub impact crater on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Studies of this crater and the mass extinction event that occurred on Earth 65 million years ago have shown that impact cratering can affect both the biologic and geologic evolution of a planet. A much better record of what the Earth might look like without its surface changing events can be seen on the Moon because there is no water on its surface, lava no longer erupts from its volcanoes, and plate tectonics have never occurred there. There are over 300,000 impact craters about 1km in diameter on the Moon. Parallels can be drawn between the Earth and the Moon because the craters on the Moon have been created as asteroids and comets hit its surface, and at the same time similar objects hit the Earth. From the Moon’s impact history we can conclude that due Earth's larger size, it would have suffered about 10 times more impact events, or over 3 million impact craters greater than 1 km in diameter.

10.4

2006-10-04T15:42:00.001-04:00

SUMO!

2006-09-29T15:46:00.001-04:00

The Specialized Unit for Mega-communicative Occupancy, or SUMO, is a unit that provides a comfortable and soundproof environment for one person to effectively communicate with the outside world with the use of a laptop computer. Designed and fabricated digitally, the form allows for easy mobility and visibilty of internalized operations.

The design initiated from the research of five teams. After discussing the case-studies on structure, acoustics, ergodynamics, audio/video, and graphics, the teams began to form ideas and devise solutions that would meet all requirements.

The final form originated from these two earlier study models: one based on a circular shape to allow for ease of mobility with a door latch and multiple interior forms and the second based on an S-curve which followed the body and utilized the stacking of a series of ribs. In the combination of these two ideas, the final design included the S-curve shape on the interior and conformed to a near circular exterior shape for easy relocation. The door was designed to open and provide a working space for occupants. Each rib is made of 3/16" masonite and contains 5 sheets of 1/4" foam insulation sandwiched in between. Foam serves a lightweight material that also provides greater strength. There are several sets of masonite and foam together, not including the outside rib on each side.

The final prototype was constructed using the CNC router and laser cutter technology. In addition to the foam and masonite rib construction, polycarbonate hollow panels were used for the side panels for greater acoustic quality. A highly detailed lock, created using the laser cutter technology alone, secures the door in place. As a final touch, branding included two sumo wrestler figures and a rastered description of the design. The overall budget of the project was $820, including all materials.

The SUMO has potential to span great distances. With the idea of distance learning and its coupling with the internet, the pod introduces many possibilities. With the construction being fairly simple, this prototype can be mass-produced in large numbers and distributed to universities around the world, making each of them communication hubs. Students have the opportunity, even in some of the most noisiest conditions, to seclude themselves and converse via webcam in SUMO.
- studioMEGA

map suggestions

2006-09-29T15:26:00.000-04:00

I found a website that we could potentially use for mapping called YaWah

9.25

2006-09-25T15:06:00.000-04:00

The main portion of SUMO is complete as the foam has been sandwiched between masonite ribs for structural integrity. There was a small issue with the joint on the masonite, but sanding the problem areas allowed the joints to be hammered together. At this point the only CNC cutting left to be done is the foam and masonite for the moveable door. Sumo is progressing nicely, if you would like a t-shirt with the SUMO logo on it contact Jill at jhazel@CLEMSON.EDU

9.20

2006-09-20T13:14:00.001-04:00

All of the inner foam ribs have been CNC cut and glued together in sets of 5. Each group of 5 will be sandwiched between 2 masonite ribs. Also below are laser-cut mockups of the sumo logo.

9.15

2006-09-15T14:37:00.000-04:00

The virtual studio is in full-production mode, the class has been working on a full scale mock-up and digital renderings of SUMO (seen below). At this point the design is being tweaked to accomodate all body sizes, materials are being priced and located, and connection details are being worked out. SUMO is slowly becoming a reality.

sumo

2006-09-10T23:42:00.000-04:00

concept sketch
sectioned elevation
proposed logostudy model photos (1/4"=1')
mobility demonstration

9.8

2006-09-08T13:47:00.000-04:00

Contact was made again today. We’ve been reserving the conference room in the library every time we’ve had a meeting. It is a quiet, secluded room with a large table for everyone to gather around, so it’s been working well. We are continuing our design proposals for the “communication station.” There was a new obstacle to overcome today, one of our group members is in Boston for the weekend. We conducted an experiment and it worked out pretty well. In order to hear the professor she called us and listened in, so we had people communicating with each other from Colorado to South Carolina to Massachusetts. In our meeting we brought scale models into the room to show the professor via web cam. It felt much different than a typical critique in the sense that the professor wasn’t physically here holding and analyzing our models. In order for the professor to get a good idea of what the models looked like we had to move them close to the camera. However, the entire meeting went well because we used multiple forms of communication. While we were video chatting, the professor was reviewing our blogs. Prior to the conference we had updated them with sketches, photographs, and renderings of our revised designs. The virtual studio is becoming a believable option to the traditional studio with time, hopefully everything continues to work smoothly as the semester continues.

developments

2006-09-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

“After Wednesday, our group began to rethink the two earlier versions of the communication center posted previously on Katy's and Jill's blogs. We wanted to push a free flowing form which could comfortably support two body positions, one for communication and one for relaxation. We began our studies with sketches and soon created a life sized sketch board so that we could get a better sense of scale (seen below).

After several renditions we began to see a relationship between our proposal and some of Frank Gehry's cardboard furniture. The flowing contours of our proposed rib reminded us of some of Gehry's forms, so we studied some of them to learn how his forms accommodated the body.

The communication center that we have proposed for today supports the body in two ways. The primary position is a relaxed seat which will allow one to easily communicate with a distant person on the built in screen. A cockpit type space including built in speakers and microphone, enclosed the upper body with a translucent, sound dampening skin; the front of the cockpit space is to be hinged to allow easy access into the space. In this way we hope to easy but not entirely block sound entering and exiting the space. From Vinnie and Jill's earlier proposal we have advanced the rubber band supports to an elastic fabric sleeve that would serve as support for the body as well as a translucent skin. The elastic skin would also create a dynamic feel to the entire structure which would also be reflected in the nature of the ribs of the structure. The second position is a reclined sitting position. When the entire structure is laid down, the back of the chair creates a more relaxed lounge chair.

For sound insulation inside the space, we have foreseen a translucent Lucite panel system that would be attached between the ribs and inside the elastic sleeve. It would remain hidden from sight but allow light to pass through. Inside the cockpit space, we have proposed a small fold down table which could tuck into the arm rests to accommodate a laptop, sketchpad, notebook, etc.” - Steven Dejonckheere

structure

2006-09-04T14:20:00.001-04:00

Jill and I began by brainstorming characteristics of mobility in regards to structure. To what extent will our structure be mobile?

Important considerations:
- type of material
- weight of material
- strength of connections
- level of assembly / complexity of structure
- is it dynamic?
- allowance for attachments- internal and external

Based upon these ideas, we looked at several case studies that incorporated a variety of materials and forms. In the project "Tea Houses" by Studio 80 one of the three houses had walls where the materials were permeable. Upon first glance, it resembles elastic stretched across the frame. Although the project was constructed of bamboo, we explored the possibility of using elastic in this type of construction. As a flexible and opaque material, elastic enables the structure to remain lightweight but take on various forms. Rough study models are shown below.
Based upon the same principles as the elastic material, we also explored the possibility of using fabric within the structure after viewing the project Floating Pavillion by Maki & Associates. The material has the ability to act as a skin when applied to a framework and possesses a similar degree of flexibility as elastic.

We are meeting with the other groups today to discuss our progression and the interaction between the five elements of the project.

9.1

2006-09-01T16:22:00.000-04:00

Video conferencing as a group is much more successful than using Skype chat. It still feels foreign to sit around a table with everyone and talk to a computer, but it is much more effective than everyone being glued to their laptops having 15 simultaneous conversations. It seems as though everyone is hesitant to talk while on video and it is hard to interject while the professor is talking due to lag. There were a few more minor issues today involving the connection but restarting Skype solved them. It was another efficient meeting today, however, I’m nervous about future meetings going as smooth, especially when the professor relocates to Genova, Italy. Lag might be much more of an obstacle then.

contact

2006-09-01T01:44:00.001-04:00

The studio atmosphere has changed drastically. In transitioning to the virtual studio we find ourselves constantly hunched over our computers. The initial meeting went well; contact was established, everyone was visible on camera, audio was clear (except for a few mishaps), and most importantly the discussion was effective. I feel subsequent meetings have been less successful. Group chatting via Skype is difficult to follow and disorganized. Several conversations were occurring simultaneously causing confusion and detracting from the discussion. I would raise a question or respond to something that was said, and by the time I could send the text the conversation had gone off onto another tangent- making my contribution irrelevant. I believe the class got more out of this past meeting than the professor did. Whenever an important point was brought up (a point usually too complex to type in the allotted time) it was discussed out loud and the Skype chat was ignored resulting in the professor being completely left out of the conversation. Future crits should be conducted using audio and video as it was done during the initial contact. This sounds like a negative post but up to this point the virtual studio has been a success. Ideas and critiques have been exchanged effectively and not much has been lost in virtual translation.

pig city

2006-08-30T15:13:00.000-04:00

In the year 2000, it was documented that pork was the most consumed type of meat per year, with people eating some 80 billion kg. There are some problems with the industry, recent animal diseases such as Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth disease are raising serious questions about pork production and consumption. Two opposing solutions can be envisioned. One is that as a population, we simply stop eating meat- we become vegetarians, or we change our meat production methods and pursue biological farming. Assuming we all continue to eat pork, do we have space for biological pig farming? Using the current methods of pig farming, as exemplified by the Netherlands, we don’t.

The Netherlands is the European Unions chief exporter of pork producing 16.5 million tons each year. This results in a conflict between urbanization and agriculture. Experts calculated that to raise pigs organically, each one would require approximately 18,600 square feet of land (shown above), leaving a miniscule 25% of the country habitable for humans. As a hypothetical solution to this “problem” the architecture firm MVRDV has suggested “Pig City.” It is comprised of 76 towers rising 500 meters into the sky. Pig City addresses issues such as organic farming, and meat production. It solves transportation and distribution problems- as the city is entirely self-contained, this would potentially reduce the spread of disease.

As described by MVRDV;

There would be no more jostling in trucks en route to slaughter - slaughterhouses would be located at the bottom of each tower, requiring each pig to take a short ride in an elevator.

Pigs would be organically fed on grain grown around the towers and tiaplia fish, a high-protein food source which, in the ultimate recycling dream, would be fed on pig waste. Each animal would get ample space, trees in their pens and terraces with truffles planted beneath the roots to allow the animals to snuffle around.

Waste not fed to fish may be reprocessed into methane, which would power the towers and provide electricity to thousands of homes.

A certain power plant in North Devon, UK, can produce around 2100 kw hours of power. This supplies close to 300 homes and public buildings with a heating scheme that can be used to heat their water.

With current methane collecting technology: 4,400 pigs put out 80 kW hours per day. One tower in Pig City consists of100 stories with 100 pigs per story and the city is comprised of 76 towers. 760,000 pigs result in approximately 14,000 kilowatt hours per day. In the Netherlands an average family of 4 uses 44 kilowatt hours a day, at this rate Pig City could supply about 318 homes with power, which is comparable to the power plant in North Devon, Uk. Even though the proposal for a city full of pigs seems absurd, it is possible as an alternate form of energy production.

focus

2006-08-25T18:08:00.000-04:00

throughout the processes of this semester I plan to hone my skills in digital media and fabrication. in the past I have been exposed to many means of production including both the digital and the analog, using the tools of the "virtual studio" I hope to develop my understanding of these methods further. the concept of this studio is intriguing, using current technology and means of communication, it will be a challenge to effectively relay ideas and to hold onto what could potentially be lost in virtual translation. however, this new challenge brings new solutions, and I am looking forward to applying these solutions to my work. I expect to combine the design techniques I have learned in past studios with those from Europe to create something profound for my portfolio.

In my years at Clemson I have come a long way in my understanding of architecture and design. This semester will be another endeavor into Form-Z. Using the new tools it offers, such as animation, in conjunction with other software such as SketchUp and Photoshop I am going to work to understand the importance of certain design software for representation.