Erosion
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2023
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7023
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12023
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2023
7023
12023
Conic Repository
FA23
Faculty: Mark Foster Gage | TA: Sahar Rahaman
Seminar: Ruins & Ruination | Yucca Nuclear Competition (Late Entry)
Considering the radioactive half-life for nuclear waste is nearly 10,000 years, the unique design challenge of signifying that danger over the course of time is what these repositories face. How can design outlive symbols, language, and society while conveying its function? Sprawled across the Yucca Mountain Range field, these heavy stone conic repositories hold nuclear waste nearly 350 feet in the ground. Over the course of its half-life, through wind and erosion, the cones are slowly revealed. Their geometric shape allows for this consistent separation to ward individuals over time. The slope of the fulcrum and the slope of repose for sand will slowly wear overtime, allowing individuals to get closer to the center.
Considering the radioactive half-life for nuclear waste is nearly 10,000 years, the unique design challenge of signifying that danger over the course of time is what these repositories face. How can design outlive symbols, language, and society while conveying its function? Sprawled across the Yucca Mountain Range field, these heavy stone conic repositories hold nuclear waste nearly 350 feet in the ground. Over the course of its half-life, through wind and erosion, the cones are slowly revealed. Their geometric shape allows for this consistent separation to ward individuals over time. The slope of the fulcrum and the slope of repose for sand will slowly wear overtime, allowing individuals to get closer to the center.