Year 2020
Team: Fabian Löser
SE Raumgestaltung
Studio 2
University of Innsbruck
TERRITORY SCALE
The Houston territory has emerged into a built environment due to the local resources - primarily oil and gas - that can be found in Texas. The production capacity of the oil fields is indicated by gradients in the Texas map. The oil fields are connected to Houston harbor by an immense network of pipelines. In addition, circles indicate the location of oil refineries, which process both local and international crude oil. Obviously, most of them are placed directly at the Houston ship channel, which is located back from the shore and is thus better protected from storms than the front shoreline at Galveston. A huge hurricane that destroyed Galveston has been the primary reason to build the artificial channel and thus determined the location of Houston – a safe harbor for the oil industry that made humans inhabit this specific territory. Houston harbor provides a crucial gateway for the oil shipments that go to any possible direction of the world. Flags indicate the cargo routes of the major oil trading partners out of Houston harbor.
500 TERRY FRANCOIS STREET SAN FRANCISCO
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MON-FRI 7AM-10PM | SATURDAY: 8AM-10PM
URBAN SCALE
Houston as an urban agglomeration is – literally – based on the harbor. Accordingly, the skyline has been placed on the cranes of the harbor graphically. Houston as the major port of Texas is a major driver of the economy and the oil industry in particular. In Houston, nothing happens without an involvement of the mighty oil companies. The city is a melting pot of urban and industrial characteristics while its dependency on the oil industry comes along with dramatic environmental and health impacts – from oil spills of offshore platforms or crude carriers to the toxic gases and effluents of refineries. Sea wildlife is endangered by these negative side effects while humans – in particular less educated and poorer populations – suffer from toxics in air and food and are impacted by significantly increased cancer rates.
ARCHITECTURAL SCALE
floating + submerged
In this version of a broad future, we try to address the increasing dangers of climate change by designing a water house. Over the sea Level, the house is made by space capsules and rescue pods from the oil platform. Together with the transformation of old ship equipment from the oil industry, they form a floatable dwelling system. It is a transfer of the technological progress to the buildings of Houston. Private dwellings should also benefit from technologies concerning high quality and durable materials, that can resist the increasing environmental conditions. Underneath the sea level, the building is connected to the underwater world through fragile-looking glass domes. This allows residents to see with their own eyes the damage that the oil industry is causing on the reef and hope to create a better understanding of how real climate change is right now.