STEEL COMPETITION

STUDIO 3B STEEL COMPETITION                                                                                                 Spring 2013                                                                                                                       Professor: Juan Carlos Portuese                                                                                                       Partner: Jose Siquina

Program: 

Marine Research Center

Proposal:

The island of St. Croix, located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, is well-known for its culture, mangrove trees, but most importantly, its vast coral reef that surrounds the entire island. Globally, coral reefs account for 25% of the world’s marine wildlife. Due to global warming, over 30% of the world’s coral reef has been lost as a direct result of coral bleaching in the past 30 years alone. Coral bleaching is caused when the tropical water experiences an abnormal change in temperature, leading the protozoa living in the coral, which allow the coral reef to thrive, to disappear almost overnight. Almost immediately after the protozoa disappear from the site, the coral is left completely white and unable to sustain any marine life. In as little as two weeks, the entire marine ecosystem in the area can be permanently destroyed.

The coral reef relies on a series of enjambments in order to survive. The marine biological research center will work for the site as much as the site works for the building. The proposal is for the building to control the temperature of the water through a series of systems; the water utilized by the building can then be used for all the necessities a marine biological research laboratory would need. By creating this relationship between the coral reef and the building, the design will guarantee that the coral reef will forever exist.

The building design begins by creating a footprint through the existing topography; the boundaries are created, and the form is extruded from the ground, sinking directly into the coast. The water that is pumped into the building immediately goes into one of two systems. The first system is geothermal, where water is pumped deep underground to cool, while the second system would be used to distribute water throughout the building. As the water is being recycled into the ocean, it will run through turbines that power the entire building.