THE SOUND MOUND: FISHER HILL RESERVOIR
“Our problems are man-made. Therefore, they can be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable— and we believe they can do it again.” -John F. Kennedy American University Speech June 10, 1963
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Top. Kennedy concept collage and mood board. Second row, left. Site context map as potential target. Second row, right. Dominant wind vectors by season.
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The Sound Mound proposes that climate change is the new Cold War. It uses historical military technology to amplify ambient atmospheric and anthropogenic sound, generating a sensory registration of climate change that challenges the discipline’s emphasis on visual experiences. The project speculates that Fisher Hill Reservoir was a Cold War target, taken off-line just as the US and the USSR embark on a year-long cooperative effort to collect climate data—ultimately, forming the foundation for our current understanding of climate change. HISTORICAL PROJECT BACKGROUND 1947 The Cold War begins 1950s Nike missiles ring the Boston Area for defense 1972 Operation Foot uncovers intelligence suggesting that American drinking water supplies may be targeted by the Soviet Union 1978 Fisher Hill Reservoir goes off-line 1978 The International Year of Science 2008 An unexploded bomb is found in another of Boston’s reservoirs
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Right. Site plan.
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