euphonious tremors

EUPHONIOUS TREMORSKATHERINE 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

ABSTRACTTime Does Not Care

Preserving the past is almost as uncertain as predicting the future, how-ever, global warming, massive consumer cultures, and our exponentially increas-ing 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 destruc-tion are predicted in this vexing times-cale. 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, ev-erything perishes, everything passes, only the world remains, only time endures.”-Denis Diderot

page 1

PROPOSALEuphonious 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 geologi-cal 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 rum-blings 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 con-cepts 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 gen-erations to fascinate about, allowing the imagination to take over the architecture.

page 4

seismic hazard zones earthquakes in a typical day most notorious earthquakes in Califonia’s history

6.0-6.4 6.5-6.9 7.0-7.4 7.5-7.9 8.0-8.4low high

San Francisco4/18/1906

San Fernando2/9/1971

Northridge1/17/1994 Long Beach

3/10/1933

Wrightwood12/8/1812

Hayward Fault10/21/1868

Owens Valley3/26/1872

Kern County7/21/1952

Volcano Lake, BC11/21/1915

2.5-3.21.7-2.40.9-1.60.0-0.8

SAN ANDREAS

FAULT

1,000 year timespan166.6 feet of motion

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.

pacific plate

north american

plate

Masterplan1” = 5 miles

san francisco

OLEMApoint reyes

national seashore

berkeley

napa valley

SAN ANDREAS

FAULT

page 7

pacific plate

north american

plate

Masterplan1” = 5 miles

san francisco

OLEMApoint reyes

national seashore

berkeley

napa valley

SAN ANDREAS

FAULT

page 8

INFRASTRUCTURE40 highways677 roads1 railroad1 airport

AGRICULTURE20 farms5 vineyards1 quarry

HYDROLOGICAL10 lakes9 streams1 river2 reservoirs2 bays7 siphons

RECREATION4 campgrounds93 hiking trails3 schools1 university

beautiful decay

generation monoliths

panto-tree

Site Plan1” = 500’

beautiful decay

generation monoliths

panto-tree

Site Plan1” = 500’

page 10

OLEMA, CALIFORNIA38°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 sur-face 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. Lo-cated 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 tour-ist destination for nature and wildlife en-thusiasts. This headland is a peninsula, unusually shaped by the movement of the San Andreas Fault over eons.

PANTO-TREEContracting 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 re-spond to the mobility of the site. The pan-tographs were recorded incrementally, showing which area gets afftected by the right lateral movement of it’s home.

Redwood trees are one of the oldest species on this planet. The Panto-Tree uses the beloved ancient redwood trees of California as anchors for the instrument. The device provides access 30’ above ground with a flexible panto-graph-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.

Plan1’ = 1/80”

scaffold and rotating observation pad constructed

around redwood

walkway

rotating disk embedded under crossroads

Elevation1’ = 1/8”

today

san andreas fault

year 2112 year 2212

year 2312 year 2412 year 2512

rotating disk

Elevation1’ = 1/8”

Plan1’ = 1/8”

today

san andreas fault

year 2112 year 2212

year 2312 year 2412 year 2512

rotating disk

GENERATION MONOLITHSTime Recording Landscape

Every one hundred years, a mono-lith 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 informa-tion 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.

SANANDREAS FAULT

BEAUTIFUL DECAYFuture Ruin

Being only 106 years old, the San Andreas Fault has yet to show mankind the full extent of it’s capabilities. Hav-ing a destructive reputation has made the crack seem a menace to society. By building a giant shell stradling the fault line, the architecture becomes immedi-ately reactive to the energy of the earth. It embodies every moment of catastro-phe along the journey, and translates it through its incomplete form and materi-ality. 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 piec-es, 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 ex-plore, 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.

BIBLIOGRAPHYWebsites Cited

http://wn.com/Earth’s_Palaeogeography__Continental_Movements_through_Timehttp://www.marinwatersheds.org/http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/car-jack-planet-counterquake.htmlhttp://geology.com/san-andreas-fault/http://www.uaff.us/the_svalbard_global_seed_vault.htmhttp://www.croptrust.org/main/arcticseedvault.php?itemid=211http://emergentstudiotr.blogspot.com/2010/12/pascals-lost-wager-precedent.htmlhttp://www.livescience.com/8346-unlocking-mysteries-san-andreas-fault.html

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