PROJECTS: NASA Orbit Pavilion (West Coast)
LOCATIONS: San Marino, CA
SIZE: 1100 sq ft
SCOPE: Architecture, Public Art, Installation
STATUS: Completed
DESCRIPTION:
"Do you remember putting a shell up to your ear to 'listen to the ocean'? What if you could walk into a massive shell and listen to the sounds of space- or rather, a symphony built out of the sounds of satellites in space?"-Jason Klimoski, Principal, STUDIOKCA
This was what STUDIOKCA proposed when commissioned by NASA to design a pavilion where the invisible sounds and trajectories of 19 NASA satellites orbiting the Earth, could be experienced.
Building on this childhood memory, STUDIOKCA created a nautilus-shaped structure using 3,500 sf of water-jet cut aluminum panels scribed with over 100 “orbital paths” fitted together and bolted to a curved framework of aluminum tubes. The structure defines a 30’ diameter inner space with a large oculus at its center. By employing an array of speakers within this space, programmed by artist and composer Shane Myrbeck to map, translate, and then broadcast the sounds of these satellites, the team created a “3d sound chamber” visitors can enter into and listen to the sounds of NASA’s satellites as they fly over, under and around them, in real time. The surface perforations echo the orbital paths of the satellites, culminating around the oculus at the center of the sound chamber, while helping to mitigate exterior noise and decrease wind loads on the relatively light structure.
The Pavilion was installed on the west coast at The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California in October 2016.
Pavilion Design: Jason Klimoski and Lesley Chang of STUDIOKCA;
Structural Engineer: Robert Silman Associates - Ryan Miller; Sound Composition: Shane Myrbeck;
3D Audio: ARUP SoundLab; Creative Strategy: NASA JPL - Dan Goods, David Delgado;
Client: NASA JPL
AWARDS / RECOGNITION:
2017 AIA New York Design Merit Award
2016 Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award
2016 SARA New York Design Award of Excellence
2016 AIA Brooklyn Queens Design Merit Award
2016 Architizer A+ Award Finalist
2015 Interior Design Best of Year Award Honoree
MEDIA:
Wallpaper* - NASA brings a twist to the West Coast with shell-shaped pavilion
Wired -
Step Insdie NASA's Giant Seashell To Hear Satellites In Orbit
Mashable -
Art Exhibit surrounds you with the sound of space
NY1 News -
Festival Brings Abstract Concepts to Life
The Wall Street Journal -
Getting Down to Earth Through Space
The Architect's Newspaper -
Listen to the Sounds of Satellites from the comfort of your Home Planet
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Lesley Chang
Chuck Choi