EAST/WEST JOSHUA TREE ENVIRONMENTAL RELIEF AID
[SITE] Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA
[COMPLETION DATE] January 2020
[ABSTRACT] As Architects pioneer the three-dimensional program of social, cultural, and utilitarian practices, it is also necessary that this art-form extend itself to addressing today’s environmental urgencies. The extreme climatic conditions in Joshua Tree are threatening the longevity of native plants and animals. Through intelligent design and human intervention, relief can be stationed throughout targeted areas to aid park rangers, scientists, researchers, and volunteers in combating the desert’s destruction. It is vital that, if the vast and ghostly landscape of the Mojave is to be interrupted with structures, the sculptural essence of the architectural design shall compliment and beautify that place by honoring the vernacular of the California desert and abstract the familiar geometries invented by nature itself. This project was proposed to the Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency in effort to transform it into reality. It was in the top 10% of finalists.
The project proposes two active modules: The Eastern Relief and the Western Relief. Both designs measure approximately ten feet in width, with the Eastern design short and humble to represent the grounded, shrub-like foliage of Eastern Joshua Tree, and the Western design vertically statuesque, presenting itself similarly to the taller trees native to Western Joshua Tree. These modular designs offer solutions to water containment for fire extermination, emergency output radio, and resources for Park Rangers and researchers, such as temperature and chemical content readings. The structures can provide habitational shelter for the insects, ravens, and ground squirrels native to the desert, mimicking the ecologic role of the Joshua Tree.
The architecture shall share a dialogue with the geology native to the Mojave Desert by expressing a modest, yet extraterrestrial, form to embody the spirit of the barren place’s unique formations. Mirrors, natural stones and rusting metals, shall be incorporated to achieve a certain level of harmony, with the colors, textures, and scale of the surrounding foliage. The lifespan of the structures shall consider the evolutionary properties of its cohabiters, how they decay and regenerate, and its materials and modularity shall respond accordingly. This is the duty of site-specific architecture, to become empathetic and embracive of the role is plays in supporting coexistence, prosperity, and survival.
