Technological Expressions in the Keweenaw

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to explore how to sensitively interpret the technological history of the Keweenaw Peninsula and simultaneously suggest a technological future. The following pages are the result of a semester long effort to collect and synthesize historical information, mining data, current infrastructure and wind potential. The research was used to inform a landscape design located in the heart of the Keweenaw along US Highway 41. The report is organized in a way that allows the reader to understand the regional context of the Keweenaw Peninsula and how that is vital to understanding the smaller scale context of my design interventions. The first two sections are an overview of the Keweenaw Peninsula describing its past, present and potential future. The third section describes the project design intent which is a direct response to the research described in first two sections. My design intent led me to a specific site along the main highway in the Keweenaw, the Ahmeek Mine Location, which is described in the following two sections. The design intervention section describes the landscape designs proposed, and the report concludes with my reflection on this project and process.