ball nogues studio: yucca crater

‘yucca crater’ by ball nogues studio in the mojave desert, california image © allison porterfield

los angeles based practice ball nogues studio is in the process of completing ‘yucca crater’, an interactive installation for the high desert test sites initiative located near the joshua tree national park, california, USA. idealized as an oasis for travelers of the vast and arid mojave desert, this project merges the theory of earthwork art with a man made structure. standing at 24 feet tall, the shell’s exposed wooden framework will serve as a ladder for climbing into and out of the vessel. the interior is lined with rock climbing holds allowing visitors to access a pool filled with 8 feet of water. the contents will be heated with solar power and pumped through a wind turbine, utilizing the readily available local resources.

wooden framework image © allison porterfield

the fundamental elements of the fabrication will derive from another project completed by the studio, talus dome. a mound covered with stainless steel spheres currently sited along a freeway in edmonton, alberta, canada, will be dismantled and repurposed for yucca crater. an inversion of its earlier existence, the container will be transported to its desert destination promoting ecologically minded and waste free construction.

overall framework image © allison porterfield

(left) vessel framework with scale model (right) opposite side of vessel images © allison porterfield

top of yucca crater image © allison porterfield

detail of connections image © allison porterfield

assembling the structure image © allison porterfield

base of framework image © allison porterfield

cnc router cutting steel plates for connections image © allison porterfield

cutting wood with cnc router image courtesy ball nogues studio

completed structure within the mojave desert image courtesy ball nogues studio

section image courtesy ball nogues studio

model image courtesy ball nogues studio

stainless steel spheres from talus dome image courtesy ball nogues studio

talus dome located in edmonton, alberta, canada image courtesy ball nogues studio

video courtesy of devin mcnulty

ball nogues speaking about yucca crater video by julianne weiss