michael simonian: a monument to nuclear waste

michael simonian from san francisco is the winner of the competition of a memorial / repository for nuclear weapons plutonium ...................................

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............. the designboom nomination ..............
..... for singular work of art, design, fashion .....

michael simonian
- a monument to nuclear waste / plutonium disposal -

michael simonian and maaike evers
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background:
in march 2002 the 'bulletin of atomic scientists' held
a competition on the problems of disposing of plutonium,
the material of choice in the construction of nuclear
weapons.
(a manmade substance, plutonium remains radioactive
for 240,000 years and may catch fire if exposed to water)

linda rothstein, the editor of the bulletin, had the idea to
place the plutonium in a giant mausoleum, as a memorial
to the excesses of the nuclear enterprise.
'just because it’s not going to happen doesn’t mean
that the best and brightest artists and architects
shouldn’t be idling away their time designing the building'
rothstein says.

with that, the magazine established a contest
- asking artists, architects, and other visionaries throughout
the world to send in designs that captured this spirit
- but with 'serious' accommodations for the safety
and security requirements such a structure would have.
http://www.thebulletin.org/gallery/index.html

the competition has seen 150 entries from 20 countries /
leon lederman, nobel laureate in physics has taken part
of the jury...
the winning project has been designed by mike simonean.

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mike's comments on his memorial project (24110):
'the proposed monument to the shortsightedness of the
u.s. energy policy:
just last wednesday, the house voted to force nevada to
provide long-term storage for nuclear waste from around
the country in yucca mountain, which is about 100 miles
northwest of las vegas.
it seems that rather than dealing with the nasty reality
of this so-called 'clean' energy source, policy makers
around the world tend to bury the material in 'permanent'
(yet leaky) repositories dangerously close to the
groundwater supplies of those who don't have the political
power to prevent the nuclear waste from ending up in their
backyards.
in designing this memorial, it was important to contradict
this habit by locating the monument practically in the front
yard of the president who, along with the pro-nuclear vice
president are creating energy policies that are a throwback
to the mid 1900s.
besides being near the white house, the monument is
designed to accomodate 500 tons of nuclear waste within
yards of other important u.s. policy makers, such as congress,
senate and the dept. of energy.
the length of time that plutonium must be sealed away from
our air, land, and water defies the durability of every
material and structure conceivable by man, quickly revealing
that what we call a permanent solution, is actually an
unforgivable gift to future generations.
24,110 is the half-life of plutonium (in years).'

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short bio:
mike simonian was born in los angeles in 1971.
studied industrial design at art center in pasadena,
california and in art center europe in vevey, switzerland.
design work with dutch designer, maaike evers
(MandM, short for mike and maaike).
while working at 'astro', cofounded 'flowlab LLC' with two
partners as a laboratory for physics-based experiencial
products. mike is currently working independently as well
as consulting with bay area clients and design firms.
http://www.mikesimonian.com

-
selected entry of the designboom/sotheby's competition 2002:
rocking chairs
http://www.designboom.com/rocking/36.html

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inspired by brother, john simonian, a growing interest in
social justice, environmental, and political issues will
influence future projects, as evinced by this project.
see his brothers website
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/3796/boycott.htm#Action
john simonian created this web page because he thinks
(that's also the way designboom thinks) it's important
for people to know that the clothes they wear,
the appliances they use, and the food they eat may
be the end result of a complex system of exploitation.

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the plutonium disposal memorial
© mike simonian