BERING PROJECT

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The project does not simply concern itself with the construction of a commercial or railwaylink, nor a bridge connecting one continent to another. The amplitude, siting, geopoliticalcontext as well as the global ecological conscience entails a proposal far more audacious, anactive project sensitive to the conditions of the site.A threshold between the arctic and pacific oceans, the Strait manifests a highly fragile andsensitive climate, linked to the fabrication of ice, acting as a strategic zone for global climate.An incredibly particular ecosystem connected to the surrounding climate is composed of veryrare and fragile species which includes belugas, walrus, polar bears, blue whales, dolphins,and orcas, to name a few.Due to the Straits relatively shallow water levels; the proposed structure is able to descend tothe bottom of the ocean, with only a few meters floating above the water level.The structure works in compression. Two parallel walls cut through the adjacent bodies ofwater, held apart with bracing, which at times is habitable. Each wall, 10 meters wide,respectfully provides train and vehicle infrastructures at its apex. The massive structurerequires simplicity, a trait only achieved with a direct line that connects the two sides of theStrait.The interstitial space created by this vast separation, spanning 50 meters, becomes aninterface for human passage and exchange, providing visitors and inhabitants the opportunityto traverse the Strait by foot, as was originally intended by primary civilizations. Constantviews of the marine landscape travelling across the perforating tubes pierce the linear horizonof the space, constructing a new ground floor plane, submerged 50 meters below water level.The project creates a milieu dependant on green energy, taking advantage of the site and it’sinherent currents, to install a completely ecological, renewable system.The delicate ecosystem embodied in the site is enriched through the implication ofperforations in the main structure, across which local fauna can permeate, providing adjacentlaboratories direct access for research, as well as inviting the public to explore and witnessthis unique habitation. A protected space is thus created for these ecologies to flourish. Thisfilter allows things to occur naturally in terms of energy, fishing and observation, but undercontrolled circumstances.Furthermore, the separation of the Arctic from the Pacific can only improve temperatureisolation, gradually decreasing water temperatures in the Arctic as there is much lessexchange between the two bodies of water. The Arctic ice sheet will stabilize itself, protectingthe cap from melting. Salinity levels are also stabilized seeing as there is a decrease inflow ofthe salty Pacific waters, further decreasing ice melt, hence reducing global climate change.The structure takes advantage of the existing currents in the channel. Certain perforations inthe structure act as marine current turbines, accelerating water movement and currents.Because the water level in the Strait is relatively shallow, flows tend to be faster, generatingmore energy.Because of their large scale, the turbines move in such a slow manner, that fauna is still ableto pass through, diminishing any repercussions on marine life. The energy produced from thisaction is channelled into programmatic zones of the schemes, such as the residences and thelaboratories. Furthermore, the structure’s walls rise 2 meters above the level of the sea,utilizing the energy produced from storm fetch, waves that crash and break on the boundarywalls.The Peace Park’s form is as symbolic to the past as it is to the future. The notion of time andtemporality becomes central; its unstable and transient nature is mirrored in the ice thatengulfs the site. Fragile floating pieces of ice, known as pancake ice, maintain a strongpresence. They are constantly in collision with each other, until they transform into circularform, and later solidify to create a continuous field of ice. This phenomenon is the basis forthe minimal footbridge connecting the little and big Diomedes.Extending the 50meter wide opening created by the structure, a series of 10meter by 10metermodular cubes, faced with a polished reflective metal, delicately float above the waterssurface.The subtle undulation of the modules solidifies once the ice freezes into a unified plane,displaying the instability, political and climactic, that exists in the zone. Individual modulescharacterize themselves with the engraving of celebrated peoples who have sacrificedthemselves for the unification of these continents. Each module, acting as a floating buoy, isequipped to harness energy from the ocean’s undulating waves, channelling it back into thezones of habitation within the scheme.Acting as a viewing platform, the entirety of the sublime landscape can be witnessed,experienced and respected. A powerful place where time dissolves, past and futureamalgamate and only the existing landscape reigns.The structure splits the Diomedes in two. A hermetic city, built into the 400meter high island,pierces the façade of the cut, comprised of residences, theatres and cultural centres. A fractalview of a submerged city can be seen as pedestrians travel across the Strait, giving birth to avertical city. A new mode of living is established. Due to the innate thermal mass of thesubterranean rock, the diverse program is attributed natural heating and cooling qualities. Thesurface of the Diomede is uncovered with the rift of habitation below.

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BERING PROJECT

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BERING PROJECT

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