GRADUATE AEROSPACE LABORATORIES

Our client, a university aerospace department, has pioneered many advances in aerospace exploration. The department asked us to transform its run-down facilities into a dynamic environment that would reflect the new types of research going on there. In doing so, we sought to: find formal and spatial analogies for this collective research; provide it with a new identity as it enters a new era; maximize transparency to promote creative interaction; and celebrate the department’s history.

The program included: new lobby; new teaching and research labs; new exhibition areas; and new conference, office, and interactive spaces. 

Our formal language came from the notion of FLOW – the understanding of material behavior under differential pressures. We dropped new ceilings and wrappers into the existing structure to metaphorically study their flow patterns, while also creating a highly functional facility. Digital design and construction tools were utilized throughout the design and construction process.