Entropy and Architecture : entropic phenomena actuating dynamic space

Abstract

Accepting the second law of thermodynamics indicates that any energy source is not infinite. At the event fossil fuel reserves in Alaska are depleted, the massive infrastructure supporting fossil fuel extraction-including 800 miles of pipeline-is assumed to be obsolete. This thesis endeavors to acknowledge the Pipeline's relationship to energy transfer and create a future plan of adaptive reuse. This thesis exposes processes of energy transfer or entropy. It acknowledges environmental entropy and utilizes observable phenomena of global warming within Alaska. It argues that since physical systems are universally subject to entropy, and ideal systems are connected to physical systems, ideal systems are as subject to entropy as physical systems. The exposé of these entropic values occur in a design of an experiential space at the southern most marine terminal of the existing system. It demonstrates the experience of social entropy through spatial configurations affecting communication; it informs a hidden nature of fuel as commodity. Additionally, it exposes environmental entropy by connecting dynamic spatial changes in Valdez to measurable triggers along the Pipeline's corridor.