CLIMATE BUBBLES
The global threat of climate change carries potentially catastrophic consequences, yet it is hard to fully comprehend due to the small-scale geographic surroundings they interact within daily life. In order to fully communicate the gravity of the situation, Fighting Global Warming Network Austin Chapter consists of a series of climate-controlled membranes, each of which approximates the climatic conditions of other chapters of Fighting Global Warming Network. Encased in a responsive exoskeleton and curved glass, the flexible membranes expand and contract in accordance with the changing temperatures contained within. In this way, visitors’ paths throughout the building are impeded or expanded as global climates change more and more dramatically.
+MAPPING
Seven cities around the world all battling various climate crises serve as the representatives to illustrate the global interconnectedness of climate change. Located in Austin local climate is studied in the form of tree cover, waterways, and greenspace in how they contribute to combatting the urban heatsink in an already blistering city that’s been facing increasingly brutal summers. While most residents rely on the AC to cool their homes during the unbearable summer month’s the cities homeless population doesn’t have the luxury and are facing the effects of climate change the most directly while making the least contributions to the issue. While the state of Texas is hostile to the homeless and has banned homeless encampments as of 2021 Climate Bubbles offers shelter.
+MASSING
Each of the seven representative cities is located within the building, bridging and supporting the occupiable platforms.
+INFLATION
JANUARY 21, 1200 CST
JANUARY 21, 0000 CST
JUNE 21, 1200 CST
JUNE 21, 0000 CST
The air in the climate bubbles is in a closed interconnected system but the building “breathes” as a reflection of diurnal and seasonal changes in the earth’s climate. For example, the bubble representing Curitiba will be at its contraction as the bubbles representing Helsinki will be in expansion. The “breathing” is a visual reminder of our interconnectedness and the global nature of climate change. In addition to the regular expansion and contraction, the building also marks the overall heating of the globe as the bubbles have an underlying trend towards expansion.
The whimsical lightness and ephemeral quality of the bubbles is juxtaposed with the complex cable-membrane construction system cradled by a doubly curved exoskeleton
+OCCUPATION
The expansion and contraction of the bubbles determine lateral and vertical circulation through the building.
