3 MOVES

ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTIONS

MOVE 1

An elliptical walkway clings to the side of the Eagle Butte coal mine, north of Gillette Wyoming, allowing visitors to experience the scale of human disturbance of the land.

The orientation of the ellipse on the slope causes the path to be shallow and easy on descent, and more challenging on the way back up. This, and the increasing degree of char coating the wood, gives the visitor an allegorical experience of climate change.

The 1/2 mi walkway descends slowly. At the nadir, the slope of the path shifts. The placement of the ellipse’s vertex on the ascent causes a 6 degree increase in slope, making it more challenging to return to climb back out again.

The wooden walkway will be treated with an increasing degree of charred shou sugi ban finish.

The mining company is required to refill the mine and restore the land to its previous condition once the supply of coal is exhausted. The walkway will remain through the restoration process, leaving only the beginning and endpoints in the sage prairie, as a sign that the land is not exactly as it once was.

MOVE 2

A major route for coal trains runs next to the Columbia River, flanked by the scenic Lewis and Clark highway.

There is an enormous amount of coal passing by the river, but each load only occupies a place for a short period of time. This volume is manifested permanently in the negative space of 125 casts of coal loads, embedded between the highway and train track.

As time passes, and coal use dwindles, the earth would begin to push through the retaining walls and reclaim the missing space.

MOVE 3

Prevailing winds across the Pacific Ocean carry air from China to the west coast of the United States.  It would take a particle an average of 6 days to travel from Beijing to Boardman, Oregon, the site of a potential coal terminal. A jetty near the site of the proposed terminal attempts to make this connection visible, underscoring the local implications of global polluting systems.

This returning air is made visible by panels that act as weathervanes: when the wind is right, the panels align to create a dark smudge alone the river.

At the terminus of the jetty is a panel featuring air quality footage from Beijing, from the date the air would have been there, based on wind speed and direction.

University of Oregon - Arch 583 - Winter 2016 - Associate Professor Erin Moore