1:350 Geological Model

As a follow-up to the Atomic Cities design research on the PGDP site, the US Department of Energy, through KRCEE & CAER, funded a series of models to communicate the enrichment plant’s complex, contaminated site conditions.

This first model was designed to communicate the relationship between the underground contaminant plume, groundwater, subsurface geological formations, and the PGDP site. The model was intended for use by scientists, DOE staff, community, contractors, and policymakers to understand a plume that had previously illustrated by coordinates on a spreadsheet.

The research team designed, fabricated and delivered the entire model within 4 months. Using different materials and digital fabrication techniques, we designed each individual  layers communicated the site’s geological strata, aquifer, Ohio River, contaminated ground concentrations, and surface conditions like landscape, buildings & roads.

The materials and construction of each layer involved waterjetted aluminum, lasercut plexiglass, digitally contoured polyurethane foam, and a plywood base. As new data  becomes available, we can model and fabricate model layers, and insert them into the model. After several successful rounds of public and internal meetings with our first  model, the DOE commissioned additional models with increasingly specific site information and greater interactivity. All models show the property in relation to the rural landscape and  Ohio River, as well as the underground geological strata, multi-layered aquifer, groundwater contamination, and monitoring wells. This 3D presentation facilitated multi-disciplinary  discussions between scientists, agency contractors, policy-makers and the public. Digital fabrication enabled us to make every model an interactive and mutable tool, for  stakeholders to record and update throughout the remediation process.