Water Resource Experiment Station

Abstract

Students in this studio were asked to design a Water Resource Experiment Station at a site on the bank of the Missouri River west of Linton and South of Bismarck, North Dakota. The students were given presentations by studio collaborators from the Biology Department and the Department of Civil Engineering concerning the use of constructed wetlands to clean waste water from the laboratory and rain water harvesting from the building’s exterior to add fresh water to the clean waste water for the use of the laboratory. Each design is approximately 20,000 square feet in area, has public parking and public toilets accessible from the exterior and is intended to be open to the public for their use after hours and on the weekends. The voronoi inspired superstructure is a reminder of the collaboration required between natural systems and human planning in the creation of successful constructed wetlands. The undulating envelope is possible due to the flexibility of this system and exploits the potential of the technology used to make it. The design encourages the public and staff to observe the ongoing efforts towards water conservation as well as the natural elements of the bluff and the Missouri River.