29geology

Investigations of landscape processes

and mechanical 4 vocabulary, is essential to comprehending this subject. This term is embedded in all types of changes, and interpreted as a shift between conditions. It is a complex balance of forces - the level between stability and dynamics, which involves aspects of speed, time and movement. The site, an industrial territory producing concrete, is a system based on its own logic and order. Every component is limited to a programmatic purpose, and the motivation of the actions is purely functional. By focusing on the term ‘landscape’ as a comprehensive metaphor, the area is transformed into an object of aesthetic sensibility. Through this approach, the man-made landscape is no less nature, in a way, than what is considered a ‘natural’ landscape generated by geological processes. A classification of the processes of producing concrete, based on both the pragmatic and phenomenological aspects, reveals an interesting duality between the practical operations and the unintentional aesthetic effects upon the landscape:

Flushing Bay NYC Concrete Plant The different processes 2 and forces within a landscape are unfolded through the optic of a concrete plant , located in Flushing Bay, NYC. The site is an eminent example of an area transformed by an intricate balanced system of geological and man-made processes. The coastline of Flushing Bay has been transformed due to human actions like constructions of piers, ports and other interventions, where the water acts as a transformative agent of erosion and sedimentation. The bottom of the bay can generally be characterized as silt/ clay with some areas of sand. The runway extension at La Guardia Airport is held responsible, as the main channels are cut off causing a low level of energy. As a result particles of silt and clay settle in the area leading to an accumulation of mud. It might seem like a static landscape, but mud saturated with water is incredible unstable, and is prone to change any time. The term angle of repose , which appears in both the geological 3

43

The process of mixing / Constant topographical change

2 Process, noun – a natural or involuntary series of changes

Pragmatic; Piles of gravel and sand are stored separately in different chambers, and subsequently transported onto the conveyor belt – leading into an immense machine which mixes the different components into concrete. The concrete is then transferred to concrete mixer trucks and directly transported to construction sites in the city. Aesthetic optic; The area is a dynamic landscape of piles - an ever changing terrain of sand and gravel, framed and controlled by dividing, static concrete chambers.

– a systematic series of mechanised operations performed in order to produce something 3 In geology the term describes the slope stability as the steepest angle that a cohesionless slope can maintain without losing its stability When a slope possesses this angle, its shear strength perfectly counterbalances the force of gravity acting upon it. Imbalance in the relationship between forces as gravity and resistant force can cause erosion, deposition and mass movement as landslides, rockfall and mud flow. 4 In mechanics it refers to the maximum angle at which an object can rest on an inclined plane without sliding down. This angle is equal to the arctangent of the coefficient of static friction between the surfaces.

Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator