thresholds of memory

university of virginia

master's thesis

2004

This investigation attempts to embed the visitor in their physical, historical, and social context, through architectural insertions into the surface of an extreme post-industrial landscape: Centralia, PA. The proposed interventions mark critical thresholds between the surface and subsurface conditions. Each considers different forces acting on the site, and the way these forces are perceived.

INTERVENTION #1: ENERGY SEAM
The intersection of the mammoth vein and surface is marked by an angled plane, as if the vein had pierced the surface and continued towards the sky. It provides a visual connection to the fires, and a physical connection to surface and underground mines.

INTERVENTION #2: CORE SAMPLE
A vertical extraction at Centre Street projects 500 feet to the syncline of the Mammoth Vein. This core acts as a conduit for people and light, connecting the surface with the underground mines. It also provides demarcations of the temporal and spatial layers.

INTERVENTION #3: EVAPORATING TERRAIN
Steam gardens are suspended over a subsidence pit. This insertion heightens the perception of ecological devastation, contrasting the lifeless, charred subsidence pit with the lush greenery suspended above.