Eliza Booth
Pipe
Streams
Mill Creek
Sewer
The empowerment zone in Mill Creek has a subterranean echo. The sewer that
long ago squelched the lively Mill Creek is fragile - it has some weak area
which need mending, similar to the streets above. When rainstorms dump excess
water into the Mill Creek watershed there is a sense, both real when flooding
occurs and imagined as the earth shifts unsteadily underfoot, that the sewer
stystem is bursting at the seams. The natural waters that once drained peacefully
through the creek torment the sewer forcing it to reveal itself. This underground
drama could be explored in design. The storm water might force the great
pipes to burst forth from the ground and flow above the surface. This would
be unpleasant in terms of the sewage water. however, a separate pipe may
collect runoff water, ornament the neighborhood and connect the community
to the water by bringing the processes of water movement and the power of
the earth's movement above ground. The pipe might be raised high above the
ground at points and sometimes hit the ground. It might also be more of
a chanal at points so the water may be seen and touched.
An earthquake might drag a sewer system above ground. Earthquakes shock.
They remind human beings of their own limitations and force them to reckon
with the earth's powers. A huge pipe erupts out of the ground and distributes
water through various channels in a recreational area while also working
to contain and control storm water runoff. Other pipes, some gushing some
that leek or drip, allow different types of vegetation to grow. The pipes
might also distribute water to holding areas where it will be absorbed.
IMAGES
OF THE PIPESTREAM
Water flowing in an open pipe flowing above ground.
HOMEPAGE