Te Salt House Project: Designing for Death (DfD) by SunMin May Hwang B.S., Housing & Interior Design Yonsei University, 2009 Submitted to the Department of Architecture in Partial Fulfllment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology February 2014 © 2014 SunMin May Hwang. All Rights Reserved Te author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafer created. Signature of Author .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Department of Architecture January 15, 2013 Certifed by ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Brandon Cliford Belluschi Lecturer of Dept. of Architecture Tesis Supervisor Accepted by ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Takehiko Nagakura Associate Professor of Design and Computation Chair of the Dept. Committee on Graduate Students 1 2 3 Tesis Committee Tesis Supervisor Brandon Cliford M.Arch, Belluschi Lecturer Massachusetts Institute of Technology External Design Critiques 12.19.2013 Gabriel Feld Tesis Reader Professor, RISD Antón García-Abril Debora Mesa Ph.D, Professor of Architecture Visiting Faculty, MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lindy Roy John E. Fernández Visiting Lecturer, Architectural Design, Princeton University School of Architecture M.Arch, Associate Professor of Architecture, Building Technology, and Engineering Systems Head, Building Technology Program | Codirector, International Design Center, Singapore University of Technology and Design Marc Swackhamer 4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Associate Professor, University of Minnesota School of Architecture 5 Te Salt House Project: Designing for Death (DfD) Testing radically rapid turn-over of building life-cycle by SunMin May Hwang Submitted to the Department of Architecture on January 15, 2014 in partial fulfllment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Abstract We as architects consider ourselves creators. We work under the false assumption that buildings will last forever. However, the fact is that every building eventually dies. Tis thesis rethinks the question of death. Te Salt House Project is a product of this questioning. It tests radically rapid turnover of the building life cycle in the Islands of Galapagos, Ecuador. Te thesis is carried out by designing a salt-cured seasonal residence, which will gradually and naturally be demolished over a designated period of time. Te building life expectancy will be precisely set out from the beginning to the end-purporting each and every step of its life cycle -from occupation to demolition. It will be constructed and disappear back into the nature within a one-year life cycle. Some parts will obviously remain for a longer period of time depending on its structural integrity. However, the big picture is that the house will evolve-decay over time, varying not only in its form but also in its function. To implement this idea, all building materials will be based on natural resources including salt, soil, gravel, sand and coconut fber. Water and heat will be the binding solution of the building structure and wind and rain will act as demolition agents. Tis thesis challenges the attempt to alleviate building obsolescence over time by reversely mandat- ing a building’s life expectancy. In doing so, we achieve frstly, a sympathetic connection between geometry and material and secondly, a vitality to achieve eccentric expressions of life styles that can be highly unique and customized. In fact, the way we operate shifs dra- matically when we design for death as opposed to perpetuity. Tesis Supervisor: Brandon Cliford 6 Title: Belluschi Lecturer of Department of Architecture 7 Acknowledgment I would like to sincerely thank: All M.Arch fellow students who I learned the most from during my time at MIT, Professors for the “whippings” that now will be the seed of both my life and career, Cron for ubiquitous and kind support, Cynthia Stewart and the rest of administrative staf whose eforts made things happen, JongWan & Namjoo for the devoted help in the last few days of thesis, JinKyu for the mentorship when most needed, Miho & Sung for the comfort and friendship throughout the frst year, Jonathan Krones, Zahraa Saiyed, and Emily Lo Gibson for their supportive feedbacks, Antón García-Abril for both compliments and critiques that come from true expertise, John E. Fernández for the added intellectual rigor and depth to my research, Nader Tehrani for the courage and confdence I gained through the internship at NADAAA, Brandon Cliford, the best teacher I have ever had, for making my last semester the most enjoyable and the most successful, Friends & Relatives all over the world for encouragements, Peter Kang, needless to say, for being there with me, and Lastly but not the least, my family for the inefable trust, love and support. SunMin May Hwang January 15, 2014 8 9 Table of Contents Introduction 12 Material & Building Process Experiments 60 Unintended building obsolescence 14 1. Salt crystallization 62 Rising building demolition rates over time 16 2. Salt solidity test 78 DfD Matrix: Scale over time 18 3. Salt texture, composite test 90 Building component life-span 20 4. Earth repose test 96 Deconstruction vs Demolition 22 5. Salt layer test (Saltifcation 1, 2) 102 Architects’ attempts to alleviate building obsolescence over time 24 6. Excavation mock-up 108 Precedents 26 7. Demolition test 110 Other industries 32 8. Settings 122 Mandate of time 34 Result of buildings not designed to be deconstructed 36 Drawings & Renders 124 Phase sections 126 Testing Ground 38 Plans 128 Site Specifcs: Galapagos 40 Diagrammatic plans 130 Human Encroachment | Zoning 42 Section 132 Resources | Tourism 44 Renders 134 Design Process 46 Final Presentation 138 Life-cycle 48 Materials | Form 50 Bibliography 150 Life cycle assessment 52 Construction & Demolition Process 54 Program | Maintenance & Operation 56 Structure | Design Factor 58 10 11 Introduction 12 13 Unintended Building obsolescence Interestingly enough, buildings in modern society are typical- DfD: Designing buildings to facilitate future renovations and ly not designed to be demolished or deconstructed according eventual disassembly. Tis involves using less adhesives and to construction and demolition expert Bradley Guy. Te way materials and using more re-usable components. architects have been operating for years has been focused on growth and prosperity because we believe that long-lasting life C&D: Construction & Demolition materials consist of the de- is a virtue and at times economically more cost-efective. How- bris generated during construction, renovation and demolition ever, the result is that many buildings actually fail to fulfll their of buildings, roads and bridges. life expectancy set out by architects. In fact, up until now, the (http://www.epa.gov/greenhomes/TopGreenHomeTerms.htm) assumption was that building obsolescence is a matter of scale of time. Derelict buildings seen at 'Villa 26' slum on the banks of the Riachue- Derelict building photography Derelict building in Saint Louis, MI, Derelict building in ZhongZheng, Taiwan lo river in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, Argentina. (2011) Source: http://1074192222.blogspot.com/2011/02/12.html by Olivia Williams Approx. 6,000 abandoned buildings in the Missouri City which has seen a declining Source: http://fotografar.pt/predios-abandonados-ultrapassado-por-natureza/ Source: http://tetw.org/post/41374954509/ill-fares-the-land population over the last 60 years Source: Photographed by Demond Meek http:// www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2169773/Stunning-photographs-transform-St- Louis-landscape-crumbling-buildings-abandoned-homes-slum-beautiful-art.html 14 15 Rising Building Demolition Rates over time 16 17 DfD Matrix: Scale over time Short Term Medium Term Long Term (1-12 months) (1-15 years) (15 years- 60years) Pneumocell: Inflatable Afterparty Installation Light House by Thomas Herzig by MOS S San Francisco Embarcadero Pier-Museum, Historic Preservation UBC C.K Choi Building London Aquatic center M by Zaha Hadid L Source: http://gbdmagazine.com/2012/zaha-hadid-london/ Philips eco enterprise center Shrinking building Stata Parking Lot demolition in Japan 18 19 Building Component Life- Building components’ life span varies to a great extent and so some parts inevitably become obsolete earlier than other com- ponents. Tis distribution map [fgure 1.] shows how ofen 0 1 year 10 years 20 years 30 years 40 years 50 years 60 years 70 years 80 years 90 years 100 years buildings are demolished for reasons unrelated to physical ob- solescence. When the building is designed for perpetuity, it falls WHAT HAPPENED HERE? in the pit of having to deal with area redevelopment, resale and life expectancy of building components far exceed not to mention maintenance