How do we design architecture with a message that could endure for millennia ?

BACKGROUND

Since the Cold War, one of the most challenging and urgent tasks facing governments around the world has been the disposal of transuranic nuclear waste.  As a by-product from nuclear weaponry production, transuranic waste is not only harmful, but also boasts a formidable decay process lasting thousands of years. To address this issue, millions of barrels of highly radioactive waste have been buried in repositories deep beneath the earth’s surface. One such disposal site  is the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, United States. To ensure public safety, it is imperative that the site remain undisturbed for the duration of the waste’s decay process.

CHALLENGE

arch out loud asks competition entrants to design a marker or marker system to deter inadvertent human intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.  The marker should exist as a means of passive institutional control of the site for the duration of 10,000 years, following the closure and deactivation of the WIPP. The purpose of the marker is to communicate with future generations that transuranic waste is buried within a repository at the facility, located 2,150 feet beneath its surface, and should remain isolated until the risks posed by its release have been sufficiently diminished.

LOCATION

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is located in the Chiuahuan Desert, 26 miles outside Carlsbad, New Mexico. It is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy and began disposing defense-related waste in 1999. Until 250 Million years ago, the site was completely covered by sea water. It has since left behind a stable salt bed where transuranic nuclear waste can be safely and permanently stored. Over time, it is expected that the residual salt will gradually seep into the cracks of the rooms where barrels are stored and seal the chambers of waste permanently. The extents of the site are dictated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Standards, which require a minimum boundary encircle the site separating the accessible area from the WIPP control area. In 1992, U.S. Congress designated 16 square miles within the control area as part of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act. This surface and all subsurface below has been dedicated for all disposal operations performed at the WIPP.

​VIEW MAP
Site Plan Around WIPP Facility

AWARDS

arch out loud is excited to present the NUCLEAR competition research and results at the Waste Management Nuclear Symposia in Phoenix, Arizona March 18th - 22nd. 
1ST PLACE AWARD

​$5,000
+ WM SYMPOSIA POSTER PRESENTATION
+ CERTIFICATE & PUBLICATIONS
​
RUNNER UP

$1,000
+ WM SYMPOSIA POSTER PRESENTATION
+ CERTIFICATE & PUBLICATIONS
​
RUNNER UP

$1,000
+ WM SYMPOSIA POSTER PRESENTATION
+ CERTIFICATE & PUBLICATIONS
​
RUNNER UP

$1,000
+ WM SYMPOSIA POSTER PRESENTATION
+ CERTIFICATE & PUBLICATIONS

 DIRECTOR'S CHOICE AWARD
​(HIGHEST RECOGNIZED PROPOSALS BY ARCH OUT LOUD DIRECTORS)
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT 
+ PUBLICATIONS

​​10 HONORABLE MENTIONS​
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT 
+ PUBLICATIONS

JURY ( ALPHABETICAL )

DANIEL ARSHAM
SNARKITECTURE
CO-FOUNDER, ARTIST
FILM THE FUTURE
FOUNDER

BEN VAN BERKEL
UNSTUDIO
FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL
HARVARD GSD
​KENZO TANGE CHAIR

EVA FRANCH
STOREFRONT FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE
​DIRECTOR
OOAA
​FOUNDER

HSINMING FUNG
HODGETTS + FUNG
FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL

THEODORE HOERR
TERRAIN WORK
FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL

THOMAS KLEIN
AECOM - WIPP
SENIOR SCIENTIST 5

JAMIE VON KLEMPERER
KOHN PEDERSEN FOX
PRESIDENT, DESIGN PRINCIPAL

VIVIAN LEE
RICHARD MEIER & PARTNERS
ASSOCIATE PARTNER

MICHAEL MADSEN
"INTO ETERNITY" FILM
DIRECTOR

GEOFF MANAUGH
BLDGBLOG
FOUNDER, AUTHOR
A BURGLARS GUIDE TO THE CITY
AUTHOR

ELAINE MOLINAR
SNOHETTA
PARTNER, MANAGING DIRECTOR

RUSSELL PATTERSON
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY - WIPP
COMPLIANCE MANAGER - SCIENTIST

PATRIK SCHUMACHER
ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS
PRINCIPAL
ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION

MARTHA SCHWARTZ
MARTHA SCHWARTZ PARTNERS
FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL

MARC TSURUMAKI
LTL ARCHITECTS
FOUNDER, PRINCIPAL
COLUMBIA GSAPP
CORNELL AAP

MEEJING YOON
MIT DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
HÖWELER + YOON ARCHITECTURE 
COFOUNDER

SCHEDULE

JUNE 7TH, 2017       Advance registration opens
JULY 8TH, 2017       Advanced registration closes
JULY 9TH, 2017       Early registration opens
AUG 12TH, 2017       Early registration closes
​AUG 13TH, 2017      Regular registration opens
OCT 21ST, 2017       Registration deadline
OCT 22ND, 2017        Submission deadline
NOV 20TH, 2017      Winners Announced

PRESS PARTNERS

MATERIALS

AVAILABLE MATERIALS

​Competition Brief
Site Maps
REGISTERED TEAM MATERIALS
​
3D Model - Expanded Site
​2D CAD File - Expanded Site