MAINTAIN LOW
Emergent Futures
U of M Winter Studio 2017
Individual Project
Complete set of boards from the entirety of the Studio in a 6'x6' square.
Bare hills and new growth show a space recovering from forest fires and beetle epidemics from the last twenty years.
In times of Epidemic, concrete stages in the forest are used as hearths to remove infected trees with high beetle populations, attracted through pheromone use.
Complete set of boards from the entirety of the Studio in a 6'x6' square.
Maintain Low (along with Silviculture: Proximity and Aesthetic, and The Mountain Pine Beetle: Economy and Ecology) are part of a Studio project based out of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. The boards show a progression along a certain line of research and inquiry (in this case, tree loss in the area) and culminates in Maintain Low, a proposal to limit deforestation and environmental damage to lodgepole pine.
Maintain Low is a design proposal to create disaster infrastructure in preparation for the next Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic. By using existing patterns in the landscape mosaic left behind by clear-cut logging, the design combines various existing management methods (pheromones, predation, and grid trapping) to direct, trap, and kill large quantities of beetles on concrete pads surrounded by fire breaks.
The pattern of forest corridors that are used in trapping the beetles are staggered to allow one stand to grow while the other is used. The pads and corridors created in the forest can be used to house recreational activites and outdoor events such as cross country skiing, horseback riding, low-impact hiking, outdoor concerts or campsites.
![RE[FUEL]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/234c5c_8d23e6981f8a49958eec6ab818ffafc0~mv2_d_5184_3456_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_653,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/234c5c_8d23e6981f8a49958eec6ab818ffafc0~mv2_d_5184_3456_s_4_2.jpg)
