One of the greatest mysteries facing humans is how life originated on Earth. In 1977, scientists discovered biological communities unexpectedly living around seafloor hydrothermal vents, far from sunlight and thriving on a chemical rich in hydrogen, carbon dioxide and sulfur spewing from the geysers. Inspired by these findings, scientists later proposed that hydrothermal vents provided an ideal environment with all he ingredients needed for microbial life to energy on Earth. This project is a process of close reading of natural phenomenon through close understanding of architectural representation, re-thinking of the object of architecture, ultimately questioning the boundaries of architecture itself.

A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in planet’s surface from which geothermal heater water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly discovered in volcanically active places areas where tectonic plates are moving apart. In this project, the focus area of study was Juan De Fuca Ridge where two tectonic plates are diverging and new crust is formed. The water that issues from seafloor hydrothermal vents consists mostly of seawater drawn into the hydrothermal system close to the volcanic edifice through faults and porous sediments and magmatic water released by the upwelling magma. Hydrothermal vents form roughly cylindrical chimney structures as minerals are dissolved in the vent fluid and precipitate out to form particles, which add to the height of the stacks.