My Master Thesis at Warsaw University of Technology 2009 – Orizaba Research and Rescue Center in Mexico. Download final presentation pdf file from: Orizaba_Observatory
The project discusses aspects of designing architecture in extreme locations, in relation to natural environment. Contextual factors, such as building localization at high altitude above sea level, building within National Park area and climatic and geological conditions had influenced building’s form creation and functional decisions. Orizaba, due to its location, geological characteristics and eruptive history, constitute a real danger for surrounding areas being in 30-50 kilometers radius from the crater, as well as people and animals living in this zone. Approximately 750 thousand of people live in 40 kilometer radius from the volcano, mainly in cities of Orizaba and Cordoba. Orizaba is a stratovolcano, being regarded very dangerous and is an active volcano. In case of eruption event two million of people might become endangered, if take into account the inhabitants of Veracruz city. Currently only seismologic measurements are taken by two stations: National Center for Preventing Disasters (CENAPRED – Centro Nacional de Prevencion de Desastres) at UNAM and since 2006 by FI-BUAP seismologic station own by Sierra Negra Consortium. There is a lack of coordinated monitoring of volcano activity, which explains the need of creating a permanent observatory.
The building is located on the peak of dormant volcano Sierra Negra on the height of 4520 meters above sea level, in a safe area in case of eruption. The building is situated on Sierra Negra north slope to enable visual connection with Orizaba, located 3.6 km to north – east. The need for constant monitoring devices supervision by at least two workers, suggest the necessity for five people to work in the Observatory simultaneously. Educational and information activities are the additional functions of volcano observatories, which resulted in placing a conference room and exhibition space in the building. Because of the location uniqueness, serviced accommodation is available in the building.
An important aspect of the design is the use of green energy and minimalisation of building’s impact on the environment, which are the criterions for gaining a research center location permission and a building permission in National Park area. From available energy sources the wind energy was used by placing small wind turbine on the volcano peak. Solar energy is used for producing electricity in photovoltaic panels on north-west façade and for heating water by solar panels placed on the roof. Water is acquired by collecting rain water from the roof. It is also stored and cleaned by reversed osmosis.
Referring to architectural theories, the project relates to critical regionalism, organic and evolutionary architecture. Critical regionalism (due to Kenneth Frampton) reveals in building’s small scale, its form derived strictly from the location and climate properties, usage of green energy and individual formal and structural solutions.
Due to Frank Lloyd Wright, organic architecture should naturally result from its context. Attempt of this kind of approach to form creation was made in this project. Wright also believed that architectural forms should not be direct copies of organic shapes, but the form should stem from biological processes’ reinterpretation. This attitude was meant to lead to architecture more integrated with its surroundings and users. Nowadays this ideas are core to theories based on evolutionary processes. Genetic architecture, similarly to organic architecture, is based on coadjuvancy of structure’s components or process’s elements leading to the final form creation. Darwinian principles were incorporated in the designing process by using evolutionary algorithms. So called “breeding forms” procedure enables analysis of a big amount of possible solutions in order to select the best object that fulfills beforehand specified criteria.
In order to reflect biological processes in the process of form finding, a Voronoi diagram, which is a mathematical model of packing space commonly found in nature, was implemented. Using this method, a structure with minimal external skin area to volume ratio was created. Aspects of evolutionary architecture were included in the project by creating optimization software based on genetic algorithm, written in Processing Programming Language. The program was used for analyzing and modifying the structure designed with Voronoi diagram. Building’s form was build using spring-particles system, similar to the one used by Antonio Gaudi to design Sagrada Familia’s vaults. Particle-spring system’s properties enable designing structurally efficient structures, because the springs under inverted gravity forces tend to place themselves in such a way, that only compression forces are present in the elements. More than 30 thousand of, so called, individuals were analyzed and by gradual improvement of forms’ parameters the structure was optimized under fabrication and transport conditions. In the optimized form, the number of different lengths elements were reduced from over a hundred to only ten, with minimal changes to the initial form.
