Henry Aldridge Y4
The Boston Snow Council
With climate breakdown, the volume and nature of snowfall in Boston, Massachusetts is changing. The Boston Snow Council puts Boston politicians - to some extent responsible for local climate and pollution - inside a snow structure. In this way, they are in a building of their own making; the snow will be more polluted if they fail to curb emissions or melt more quickly if uninsulated buildings create an unnaturally warm microclimate.
This project explores how a large-scale predominantly snow structure might be built and inhabited. Rather than constructing an oversized igloo, it uses the existing snow management of the city, having snow be piled into a large mound before excavating an inhabitable space. The structure only lasts half the year before melting and being rebuilt. Moveable components enable the plan to be reconfigurable, changing with programmatic requirements such as hosting rallies for local elections or adapting to changing snowfall.
Taking place on Boston City Hall Plaza, the Snow Council and its infrastructures play into the already-present programmes on-site. Protests, festivals, elections and City Hall functions all interact with and shape the Snow Council.
