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Deep Space Structures Laboratory (DSSL-1)
2018
MArch Architecture: Post-Digital Hybrid Practices (Year 4)
Deep Space Structures Laboratory (DSSL-1) draws on the embedded mechanical intelligence of the engine as it tests spacecraft technology through its own fabric, using its capillary skin and heat-transfer technology to cool the building using the desert’s extreme and varying climatic conditions - much like in outer space. Thus, the building begins to internalise an integral infrastructure whereby elements such as pipes, ducts and risers not only perform their functional purpose within the skin, but also begin to form part of the wider architectural language.
A private, classified programme is concealed within the fabric of the building - a Space Coral Research Laboratory. ‘Space Coral’ is proposed to be a genetically modified species of coral that is able to thrive outside of water, and does so using Electric Biorock Technology. The fabric of the building therefore facilitates research into the potential of growing structures in outer space, where we may not have the means to assemble structures like we do here on earth.
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Project highlights and notes:
Located on Leuhman Ridge on Edward’s Air Force Base just east of Rogers Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert, the Astronaut Training Facility makes use of its large indoor pool to familiarise astronauts with the microgravity that they will experience in space. The classified nature of the building begins to articulate the architectural language - prioritising compartmentalised, high-security thresholds with forced breakages and thickened wall intersections. The fabric of the building not only allows for protection of the classified cosmic structures research, but also begins to train astronauts through its almost claustrophobic configuration for the types of spatial conditions that they will experience when venturing to outer space.
Since the building holds classified experimentation, its ability to be self-sustaining in terms of building performance is paramount. The building therefore takes advantage of the extreme desert climate, drawing in solar, wind and precipitation to fuel its varying systems including cooling and ventilation. The high demand for water throughout the building presents a challenge when regarding its location in the Mojave desert - thus, it makes use of the existing potable water for the for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through two production well fields.
Due to activities involved in previous rocket engine testing on the AFRL at Leuhman Ridge, some areas of groundwater on site have been contaminated by hazardous chemicals and solvents, often due to the spilling of liquid engine propellants. Therefore, since the water in the building’s pools and tanks must be recycled every 20 hours in compliance with Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory standards, I propose that the building operates systematically like an engine, drawing and filtering contaminated groundwater as part of its masterplan intervention for use in the building and pumping it back into the landscape as a form of remedial action for the wider site.
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