The architectural problem presented by this project  involved the design of a live / work facility for a small staff of scientists located on Mount Wilson. The project tasked students with designing a feasible structural and envelope system, along with meeting basic code requirements. Only 2500 sq ft of the roughly 7000 sq ft program was permitted to touch the ground. Because of these overarching goals, and the topographical nature of the site, students were encouraged to experiment with steel framed and truss systems. The facility would support the staff of astronomers and technicians who maintain the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (or the CHARA Array), which runs multiple small optical telescopes on Mount Wilson year round. The program calls for living accomadations for 10 sientists and 2 technicians / administrators, office and labratory spaces, and supporting programs.  

This project seeks to strike a balance between nature and man’s place in it. Balance between grounding and soaring, of heaviness and lightness. The project is composed of two systems, one embeded in a regenerated mountain landscape, and the other floating over the mountain. The former is composed of concrete and permeable local stone paving, and the latter is constructed with steel, aluminum and wood. The earthwork acts as a ‘henge’, as it demarkates the axes of the summer and winter solstices. The ‘concrete henge’ supports the framework above. Delicately balanced trusses carry the living and working spaces out and over the landspace. The framework is divided into two floors; the lower houses labratories and offices for the scientists and technicians, while the upper provides housing. The U and J configurations of the framework creates a courtyard condition for the earthwork below, providing a uniquely sheltered space for scientists and visitors to gather and rest.