Location
Albuquerque, NM
Portability, expandability, and modularity were the critical design requirements of the client, with potential uses for the structure ranging from information kiosk to cybercafé. The current installed prototype functions as café for students at the center of the main campus.
The design solution uses a steel exoskeletal structure with infill wall panels and a roof structure suspended inside the structural cage. The roof was designed to respond to a number of different site and climatic conditions, and the installed prototype uses this formal flexibility to convey a sense of movement and levity. Designed to be built offsite, the structure can be moved on a flat-bed truck and craned or forklifted into place. The design solution proved to be extremely cost effective and less expensive than retrofitting a shipping container.