open me first

Freespace: An Architecture of Micro-Gravity
Freespace is an eco-adventure tourism facility in which guests and staff co-operate to maintain systems, prepare meals, and explore and experience microgravity. Architect Steve Shaw conceived the idea for his masters’ thesis at the University of Manitoba in 2004. The project allowed Shaw to consider how people respond when their environment is no longer defined by the typical markers of architecture.

Facility at Sea Employs Sustainability and Biomimicry
Clamshell design opens to the elements
While pursuing his master’s degree at the University of Texas, Arlington, Jason Mellard, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, designed an aquatic research and housing facility to be located 50–100 miles offshore. Citing the Star Wars films, Santiago Calatrava, and offshore oil platforms as inspiration, Mellard’s structure was intended to be a prototype for studying marine and avian life out at sea.

The Pavilion for Oblivion
Ed. Note: Besides its intriguing design, we were struck by the poetry of the narrative for this entry. We have decided to let the narrative by creator Lewis E. Wadsworth IV, Assoc. AIA, stand on its own, rather than interview its author and rewrite his tale in our words.