NASA's Sustainability Base
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has opted not to limit its technological and scientific advancement to off-planet excursions. In 2011, NASA opened the latest in innovative thinking for earthbound office space (as perhaps the 'next giant leap' for mankind).
The Ames Research Center's Sustainability Base — as the new structure is named — has arrived on the grounds of Silicon Valley's Moffett Federal Airfield in San Francisco, showcasing many of the latest advancements in sustainability and energy-efficiency. The structure derives from NASA's 'Renovation by Replacement' strategy to meet the agencies evolving needs, as well as those of its expanding network of consultants and contractors. (The facility's name is a clever play upon the Tranquility Base moniker coined by astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969 for the first manned moon landing site.)
NASA and the entire design and construction team involved with Sustainability Base are collaborating in pursuit of a Platinum Level Leadership in Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the completed structure. Among the incorporated sustainability features are the structure's narrow floor plates of column-free space (for better overall daylighting), substantially reduced freshwater consumption, significant fresh-air ventilation capability, locally-sourced construction materials, recycling of all construction wastes, and provision of plentiful green space. The $20 million facility is expected to generate more power than it consumes. It may thus achieve 'net-zero' sustainability status.
Project partners include the architects William McDonough + Partners and AECOM, consultants Loisos & Ubbelohde, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, as well as numerous NASA managers involved in planning, operations, bioengineering, technology, research and infrastructure.
- Sustainability 48: the environment
We're all in this together The movement toward sustainability is a direct descendant of the social movement of environmentalism. And environmentalism, far from being a new phenomenon, has been with mankind for more than a millennium. The first... - Sustainability 10: Density
To many, it seems counter-intuitive that packing the globe's inhabitants more tightly might actually be good for the planet's sustainability, but it's a fact. - Sustainability 47: Green Labeling
Label him green? With the world’s ever-increasing concentration on environmentally sound green design and sustainability, there has been an ever-increasing set of green design standards, guidelines, certifications and labeling. Here are some of... - Sustainability 13: Transit-Oriented Developments (TO...
Transit-Oriented Developments are prime candidates to generate increased activity and vibrancy in our larger cities. - Sustainability: Green Roofs
Here's one environmentally conscious design option that's garnering adherents the world over. - Sustainability 62: Rain Gardens
In essence deceptively simple, rain gardens offer yet one more incremental method of achieving greater sustainability and improved water resources. - Sustainability 19: The Human Factor
Because sustainable design hinges on our long-term viability as a species occupying our only Earth, it must be firmly based on human values and must always consider the human factor.... - Sustainability 18: land conservation
With the human species converting about 32 million acres (13 million hectares) of forest to cropland, cities, suburbs, shantytowns, wasteland and desert each and every year, the... - Sustainability 6: Population
Rays of hope One of the prime movers of the world’s sustainability crisis is its population. The more mouths to feed, the more thirsts to quench, the more children to clothe and educate, the more families to house, the more sick and infirm to... - Sustainability 13: Transit-Oriented Developments (TO...
The sustainability of our cities and towns can also be enhanced through the creation of Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs). Quite simply, a TOD is any MXD centered about a...