LEARNING FROM ENEWETAK

AA School of Architecture 2019 :

Diploma 3

Tutors:

Christina Varvia and Merve Anil

The unique conditions of the Republic of Marshall Islands are of historical significance in the age of Anthropocene: the collision of two environmental phenomenon of radioactive waste and climate change.

The project traces back the geopolitical influence of the U.S. administration on the republic during the Cold War subsequently leading to nuclear ecocide the effects of which have become even more emergent to manage today. The imminent risk of the submerging of the nation due to the rise of the world’s sea level, estimated to erase the Atolls between 2030 and 2060 poses a threat for further contamination of the Pacific Ocean and the extinction of the Marshallese culture. Centralizing the project around the radioactive waste site situated on the Enewetak Atoll referred to as the Runit Dome the work speculates on the possible consequences of the slow violence of nuclear colonialism and proposes a document nominating the atoll to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.