Fifth Year Project

In a cutting-edge aerospace research and development facility, the extended, or continual, operation of the building depends on the flexibility of space, infrastructure, and structure. By establishing a hierarchy of these strongly interdependent elements, a unique and functional space results while maintaining a high degree of flexibility and opportunity of expansion. The component, or module, in Adaptive Component is, first, the structure. A lightweight, long-span, steel diagrid with a unique shape derived both from and for the flexibility required. Second, the component is the space maker. The program spaces are housed on the northern end of the structural module. The shop spaces located on the ground floor while the offices and auditorium hang from their respective component. Finally, the component is the infrastructure. Similar to the service core of a high-rise, the bases, along the southern end of the building, act as housing for services which feed each particular program. The cafe space is supported by restrooms, the open hangar has access to storage and fuel storage, and the shops are fed by various mechanical equipment. Today this equipment may include pressurized water tanks, pressurized air, coolant, different fuels, etc., but tomorrow they may be swapped by equipment we have yet to envision. The linear plan organization allows for future expansions in either direction and for rearrangement of the program spaces without the need for a major structural overhaul. Instead, the large structural component remains and only its services change.

The components are composed of various integrated layers of passive and active environmental considerations. The situation of the thickened core along the southern end acts as a powerful heat barrier against harsh desert sun. Correspondingly, the program spaces allocated along the northern end receive abundant and benign northern light throughout the year. The high ceiling of the space provides room for heat to rise and then be released through mechanically operable ducts in the components. Solar panels situated along the entire roof provide power to corresponding modules. A dynamic ETFE system, where the translucency (and thus heat and light gain) can be directly controlled by the inhabitants, span between the components as a lightweight enclosure.

In the end, the project seeks to find a balance between a functional/flexible facility and a unique architectural language. The latter becomes both a result and an influence to the former. The component becomes the building which becomes the architecture.