2 Degrees, Marine Research Facility

       Norway is home to 2,534 glaciers. Old as time itself, these glaciers keep a record, a stamp in time holding secrets within their walls of ice. They’re a source of recreation and study, and beloved by the people of Norway, yet do they know they are already losing their love? With current climate conditions, we are on track to see a rise in global temperatures by 2°C as quickly as 2050 and without mitigation is set to rise to 8°C by 2200. 8°C is a 230’ sea level rise; 8°C is the end for us. 2°C is the start. What do we design to? 2 DEGREES is a partially suspended marine research facility utilizing glacial and fluidity typologies that studies, reacts and adapts to the effects of a changing climate on marine life and fickle sea levels. 

     2 DEGREES Marine Facility is critically a take on rising global temperatures and how these changes in degrees influence and manipulate sea levels and marine life. The massing's were designed through a methodology exploring glacial and iceberg characteristics and nuances so as to make the facility appear to be floating as the last glaciers. The facility stands as the last glaciers, slipping into the channel, waiting for the big one to wet their underbellies. Norway already has a relationship with its flooding yet it's difficult to adapt to these variations as patterns continue to change with the climate. 2 DEGREES is designed to accept the flooding and embrace it. While the facility is designed with elements of sustainability, there is no illusion the facility can undo what is already done. We’ve messed up and may have to take our medicine on this one. As the tides begin to swallow the site and climb up the facades of the facility, the suspended massing's will begin to deploy themselves into the water as their suspension details release their tension and allow them to become the 2 DEGREES Arks. Nonetheless, the facility utilizes a multi-scale, multi-programmed armature network with an integrated steam system that captures, recycles, purifies, and redistributes water from the channel and rain runoff from the massing surfaces. Its following purpose is to condition the site, utilizing steam to melt snow from the massing surfaces to relieve snow loads during colder seasons and cool vapor in warmer seasons. Transparent solar panels are another element implemented into the facility as Norway is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun given the phenomenon where daylight hours are greatly extended for portions of the year. Finally, catch and release pools were excavated as part of the greater system allowing for strategic flooding but to engage the community, visitors and scientists at the facility. Different pools are given certain clearance levels, as these pools are programmed to specific audiences. Elements on the site were organized according to the site manipulations and landscaping. Excavations were made through the center of the site allowing the water to be part of the experience rather than a nuisance. Norway’s most common types of glaciers are tidewater, hanging, and mountain valleys, and the behaviors of these typologies were considered when placing the massing's around the excavations. It took several iterations to complete the site manipulations to their final state, counting them came up to 4 for landscape alone. After settling on the site, the massing went through 7 iterations before finding their voice. It was very critical to capture the nuances of the glacial ice and understand how to rework the moves to compliment the various programs. The transition between every iteration was certainly motivated and supported by vignettes and explorative studies. Rather than to work out everything at once, the group started with a focus on a particular architectural moment such as a light condition, component factory and detail building for custom elements, the logic between programmed armatures, etc. This offered a snapshot and a starting point to explore, test, expand, and deploy.       The program was condensed into the final by programming massing's, and stating a purpose for each. The highest public traffic programs were spared to the terrestrial buildings while more privatized spaces were reserved to the aerial acrobatics of the suspended buildings. Materiality was based on the purpose of the facility and the status of their elevation. Terrestrial massing's are afforded the mixing of more robust materials such as concrete but as they rise strong but lightweight materials would be necessary as they’ll spend their lifetime between floating in the air and floating in the water. True for many portions of the project, the majority of tasks were broken up amongst the group. The process became second nature; we’d discuss briefly, receive critiques, regroup and assess, and then break up the work to each individual to develop. Updates were constant and idea pooling was crucial. Requiring many discussions and reassessments, the future of the site and the facility was greatly debated. The facility will include a housing block made up of custom pods bringing in active and retired fishermen. The hope is to create an opportunity to hook up folk science with brick and mortar science, creating an exchange of knowledge between two groups greatly concerned with the condition of the water and marine life. While initially intended as seasonal/temporary stays, the vision is to allow for long term stays as well as allowing fishermen to bring their families with them to build the site as a community revolving around the facility. As time goes by and the buildings have been deployed into the water as arks, the idea is they’d be the seed, the foundation for the first floating city in this new water world. The 2 DEGREES Marine Facility isn't going to stop climate change, but it will survive it and find itself a home on the waves as the last glaciers.