2011/12 ACSA/AISC Sustainable Lab Competition Entry
2011/12 ACSA/AISC Metal Design Competition Entry
The Portable Labs facility builds on the idea of reconfigurable research spaces that respond to the immediate needs of the users. The laboratory spaces are highly flexible in terms of both layout and location within the building; providing marine biologists and students with the opportunity of conducting research in their own labs while being closer to what they are studying: the sea life. This concept is integrated into the structure at different scales and for different functions: they serve as sliding panels that control cross ventilation and sun shading (cladding) and as sliding volumes that can be transported around the building and site. This is made possible by a system of tracks and cranes incorporated into the structural system of the building. The laboratory modules are mounted on the cranes and transported around the building and towards the sea, where they can be deployed on a research vessel; serving as an extended research facility for the marine biologists.