Jaco Booyens Architect
  • Projects
    • Buffelsdrift Gold Medal Domus International Restoration Awards
    • Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
    • Buffelsdrift Renovation
    • Buffelsdrift Staircase
    • Buffelsdrift Pumproom
    • Subsistance Farm Rysmierberg
    • Damaraland Clay Project
    • Big Tiny House Glencairn
    • House Yzerfontein
    • Project Phoenix
    • Walvisbay Container Terminal Entrance
    • CAM Plywood Structure
    • Fort Haasbroek Swakopmund
    • Rammed Earth Desert House Swakopmund
    • Off the grid house Prieska
    • New BP Green Headquarters Cape Town
    • African trade mission in Rome
    • Vertical Village on the River Tyber
    • Staircase house du Plessis
    • Olijven Hof brick vault Montagu
    • Cape Town Offgrid Scyscraper
    • Gate to industrial park
    • Furniture design
    • Thesis 1996 - Emergency center for earthquakes
  • Design Philosophy
  • About
  • Publications
  • Sketchbook
Final year thesis University of Pretoria 1996 B-Arch (UP)

Emergency center for earthquakes
San Francisco

This scheme was described by the examiners as a technological 
fantasy of a sophisticated nature bordering on industrial design 
and engineering. 

The autonomous off grid building had characteristics of a  robot and 
space station hybrid.The building harvested energy via PV and 
stored the energy in capacitors waiting in a hibernating state. 

At the given moment of the predicted future earth quake on the San 
Andreas Fault the building would be able to re-act on input from 
remote sensors signalling the occurrence of the feared earthquake 
and re-act in specific ways:

-The building adjusted and de-tuned its structure hydraulically to 
  a safe frequency based on the 
  measured frequency from the sensors. 
-The building pod would for a few moments float in a magnet field 
  creating a very efficient shock absorber. 
-The feet of the building  with Teflon padding would be able to 
  independently slide to release built up tension in the structure 
  caused by earth movement. 

A natural wetland below the building functioned as bio filter for 
recycling dirty water from the building and supplying clean 
rain water harvested and stored in the wetland.
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  • Projects
    • Buffelsdrift Gold Medal Domus International Restoration Awards
    • Contemporary Mud House Buffelsdrift
    • Buffelsdrift Renovation
    • Buffelsdrift Staircase
    • Buffelsdrift Pumproom
    • Subsistance Farm Rysmierberg
    • Damaraland Clay Project
    • Big Tiny House Glencairn
    • House Yzerfontein
    • Project Phoenix
    • Walvisbay Container Terminal Entrance
    • CAM Plywood Structure
    • Fort Haasbroek Swakopmund
    • Rammed Earth Desert House Swakopmund
    • Off the grid house Prieska
    • New BP Green Headquarters Cape Town
    • African trade mission in Rome
    • Vertical Village on the River Tyber
    • Staircase house du Plessis
    • Olijven Hof brick vault Montagu
    • Cape Town Offgrid Scyscraper
    • Gate to industrial park
    • Furniture design
    • Thesis 1996 - Emergency center for earthquakes
  • Design Philosophy
  • About
  • Publications
  • Sketchbook