PROJECT COLLABORATOR Nicole Homeny
CONCEPT & DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Aberdeen, Washington
extraterrestrial
OF THIS EARTH
Imagine if a retail experience could brand and sell sustainability in the way that Home Depot does for home improvement. extraterrestrial imagines a retail model where sustainable habits, products, and processes are advertised through real-time use. Rather than drawing from the industrial model of Home Depot, this design drawings inspiration from Disneyland - using immersion in architectural space to sell both a brand and an attitude. Through a series of carefully designed spaces, each powered by sustainable technologies, visitors lose themselves in the experience only to be reintroduced to their surroundings at the end with a new understanding of living harmoniously within the natural world. The full experience is symbolic of the change in mindset needed for the design profession to reduce its detrimental effects on the environment.
1 deluge
1 deluge
Recalibrate the senses using immersive red light and pressurized running water, gathered through rainwater collection and filtered through the green roof system. This first step in the extraterrestrial journey is intended to blur the outside world before introducing the remaining experiences.
Transition from sensory recalibration to a space of verdant reintroduction. Radiant floor panels create a gently warm threshold into the main display space.
2 radiance
Discover the main display space: an interactive green wall exhibiting the native flora of the Washington area, supplied and fed by rainwater collected and filtered through the same system that supplies deluge. Additional exhibition space is available for product demonstrations.
3 seedling
Move between seedling and the remaining experiences, which highlight the potential of sustainable products and a green lifestyle through technological innovation.
4 transition
Reintroduce the senses to the natural environment. Via elevate, visitors are returned to their Aberdeen surroundings. The occupiable green roof above extraterrestrial is populated with local Washington fauna and maintained via an integrated growth medium and steady rainfall. Visitors then complete the experience by returning to ground level.
8 center
7 elevate
Rise from the perimeter of solar to complete the extraterrestrial journey. A cylindrical hydraulic elevator with 360° transparency lifts visitors from a space of darkness with focused daylight to the occupiable green roof above.
Take in the crown jewel of the extraterrestrial experience. An array of 141 thin-film solar panels is suspended in a cone, designed to catch partial daylight at all times of the day, and supported by a custom cylindrical structural system. The panels directly power infinity adjacent. The dark space provides sharp contrast for the beam of sunlight that moves across the floor throughout the day.
6 solar
Visualize the effect of solar power. This passage is fitted with a regular grid of efficient LED bulbs, powered by the solar array in the adjoining room. The display is a real-time reflection of outside solar conditions. On a completely overcast day (8% daylight), the 141-panel array can power 329 bulbs. On a fully sunny day (100% daylight), it can power 4113.
5 infinity
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