Stella Mortem
This Conservatory of the Night caters to the collaboration between artists and scientists with a form that allows for continuous work at all hours. Knowing that the residents would be working at night, the project then begged the question when do they sleep? From this I derived a form that burrows into the earth of my site to create an artificial night during the day. Due to the light pollution from Las Vegas, this site offered the unique opportunity for artists to work at night outside in the landscape, as well as for scientist to study the effects of the pollutions on star visibility.
Site Location outside of Las Vegas
Wall section
1 Air Return 14 Wall Radiant System
2 Facade Secondary Steel Structure 15 Railing Clip System
3 1’ Concrete Primary Structure 16 Glass Railing
4 Rigid Insulation 17 4’ deep Steel Truss
5 Waterproof Membrane 18 Concrete Finish
6 Secondary Structure Support 19 Ramp Radiant System
7 Copper Facade 20 Concrete Infill
8 W12 x 35 21 Boiler and Cooler (Mechanical Room)
9 Metal Decking 22 Drain
10 3” Concrete 23 Air Space
11 Root Barrier 24 3’ Concrete Foundation
12 18” Soil 25 6” Gravel
13 Desert Plants 26 Soil
