Landscape Entrusted

Depositing Nuclear Waste in Geologic Time

Constructed about 53 kilometers southeast and 655 meters below Carlsbad in New Mexico in the United States, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a permanent deep geological repository for a special kind of radioactive waste. There are several categories of radioactive waste, depending on many factors including types of radionuclides, levels of toxicity, and purposes of a project (whether the activities from which the waste derives are civil or defense-related). These classifications are specific to each regulatory body and thus often differ from nation to nation. The WIPP houses nuclear waste categorized as defense-generated transuranic (TRU) waste…

Modernist Architecture and Visual Culture

Online Forms of Distribution

Twenty years ago, architecture that played a role in people’s everyday lives, such as this panel housing building from Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Fig. 1) would have been known only by the locals and maybe by some professionals interested in the history of architecture in the Soviet Union. Nowadays, photographic representations emphasizing the structure and design of the building are available on social media for a wide range of audiences. […]

Building New Concepts

Concepts in Indigenous Architecture as an Interdisciplinary Enhancement Factor?

In order to discuss ‘travelling concepts’ in indigenous architecture, the latter’s characteristics will be introduced with an overview of indigenous building traditions in Central America, focusing on the eight remaining indigenous peoples of Costa Rica: Ngöbe, Bribri, Cabécar, Boruca, Térraba, Huetar, Maleku, and Chorotega. An in-depth comparative investigation into architectural cultures in Central America reveals various independent and unique building types and traditions, as well as similarities in basic principles and symbolism. […]