MIES - Pankow Foundation Project

Currently, I am working with Dr.'s Pessiki and Sause at Lehigh University on a project that may significantly improve America's chances at withstanding prevalent seismic activity on the west coast. After the tsunami in Japan (and even before that the tsunami off the coast of Indonesia in 2004), a group of geologists convened in the northwest at the University of Washington and discovered that it was highly likely that Cascadia (the environmental heart of the Pacific Northwest) would be rattled by a quake of similar magnitude. The only unknown was when it would hit.

But after careful research upon the soils near the Columbia River, a range was determined: anywhere within the next 50 years. When I heard that, I knew I had to act fast.

Any architect will tell you his foremost passion is his home. In many regards, vernacular architecture is the peak artform for a building because it is architecture in it's natural state. And there is no nature I like more than that of the Pacific Northwest - from the lush green and purple flower valleys to the overcast and yet ever-changing skies. It's somber but beautiful, just like a Raymond Carver short story or a Ken Kesey novel.

So when this information was put before me while I was watching a video at Portland State University, since I knew I was going to apply elsewhere (I was paying for classes while not enrolled at PSU) I looked for projects with a NEES affiliation that could bolster my engineering credentials while improving my architectural acumen for this kind of disaster. Over the course of a year, I looked at Rensselaer Polytech, SUNY at Buffalo, Virginia Polytech and Lehigh. I ended up at Lehigh before I could view either SUNY or Rensselaer.

So I am here, in Bethlehem, PA, blogging for the school and working on a shear wall which will not deform even when confronted by the sudden impact of a tsunami. We call it "elastic architecture" - it bounces back - but it is only in a primitive state of design. What I can say is that rather than simple longitudinal reinforcing at the base, it uses more lateral reinforcing throughout a concrete member with a singular steel rod (thicker than rebar) post-tensioned through the wall on a certain interval. Because of the singular rod, the unloading phase along the stress-strain curve acts in the exact opposite direction of the loading curve, allowing the concrete to move without permanent strain/deformation.

When the design comes further toward completion, I shall blog again. But until now, it is just a dream. And fortunately, it looks like I've finally got the tools for the job.