Smoke & Mirrors
In the Nevada desert, a mirage rises from the dust. Approaching the building the visitor notices different volumes parallel to the road. The façade blends in with the phenomenal surroundings, however the building seems to reflect within itself. This effect is constantly changing, depending on the weather, time of day, and surroundings. This is the power of alienation embedded in the mirage. When entering the parking spaces, the visitor rises to the entry level via an escalator. The hallway, with a divine light coming from the sky, enhances the experience of entering from below the ground. The hallway is where the dark parking turns into the light arrival hall.
The building represents a mirage in the desert, reflecting on the unique site of the project and offers an alienating experience when driving through the desert. In between the volumes of building, oases are created. The two desert gardens offer a green, dry, and shaded place to relax and escape from the fast-paced, scientifically ground-breaking environment. The mirroring windows at the north sides of the hall building and the apartments create a rare spectacle by reflecting the sky, surroundings, buildings and everything in between. The visitor experiences a sense of curiosity when passing or approaching the building.
The design gives its users a sense of place within the building by its lighting design. The darkest spaces are situated in the lowest part of the building, whereas the lightest spaces at the top of the building. Through this, a gradient of light is created throughout the building. The entrance hall embodies this fully, with a large amount of daylight dropping all the way down from the roof to the ground floor. In the lab, machinery and dark materials create a high-tech sanctuary for the development of the Hyperloop.
Smoke & Mirrors creates an unique, high tech and comfortable place to enjoy the Hyperloop development. By three main pillars, the mirage, the oasis, and the reflection, the project enables users to live, work and visit the Hyperloop Desert Campus in a state of the art building.ould expand the city. Within large cities space is getting sparser, therfore we should expand to new areas such as the waterfront. Building in the water also allows to make a building that is adapted to future climates. Where rising sealevels are a threat for buildings on land. Thirdly, we should create what is needed. Because most skyscrapers are built as a multiplication of there plot in the form of floors and with a single fuction there is little to no diversity. In the proposal this diversity returns while maintaining efficiency. The new definition is not only based in principles. The skyscraper has been developed in parametric software, this ensures the building can be adapted in height, width, depth, balconies and more. This concept is the new definition for the skyscraper, because it symbolizes the progress needed in the future.
in collaboration with Froukje Visser, Ginger Hanssens and Olivia Meng
