Nuclearnatura: Designing for Extreme Ecologies

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In Folder: 2017 Theses

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Nuclearnatura: Designing for Extreme Ecologies

Submitted to in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, April 2017

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title: Nuclearnatura: Designing for Extreme Ecologies

creator: Chelsea Gazaille

subject: Architecture, Environmental aspects; Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobylʹ, Ukraine, 1986, Environmental aspects; Environmental restoration and remediation; Research parks, Designs and plans

description: If the Anthropocene is defined by the negative implications of humans on Earth’s natural systems, nuclear consequences are the most extreme, long-duration harmful effects induced by human touch. The toxic environment we have created for the sake of energy, war, and technology is irreversible and can only be remedied through time. Earth’s ecosystems operate on slow-time while human systems on fast-time; if architectural discourse truly means to address methodologies that enhance, incorporate, or change the way we think about coupled humannatural systems, we must address the disconnect between the fast-time in which we design versus the slow-time in which the Earth’s processes take place. The Chernobyl Disaster in the Ukraine was an international awakening to the extent people can destroy a natural site in a matter of decades with effects that will last hundreds of years. As design disciplines of the built environment increasingly shift focus to “ecological” and “sustainable” approaches, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone will serve as the poster child site for design experimentation in order to learn how to properly build with nature for the next several decades. Allowing the flourishing landscape here to detox and revitalize the area destroyed by human interference while rebuilding it for use as a research center demands careful attention to the feedback loops between human and natural ecologies so that we may learn from our mistakes and ensure they never repeat. The best way to do this is not by designing with nature, but treating a building as a living entity that grows, changes, breathes, and dies.

publisher: The Douglas D. Schumann Library and Learning Commons, Wentworth Institute of Technology

date: 2017

type: Thesis

format: .pdf

language: eng

rights: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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