Project Description
” Recharge The Loop” reimagines architectural design, energy consumption and material utilization in the whole duration of the building lifecycle. Upon fulfilling its purpose as a test center, the campus is recharged for an afterlife as a theme park, thereby preserving its embodied energy and forming not a mirage in the desert but a fascination of art and leisure.
Taking advantage of the advancement in 3D construction, the main materials used for construction are the sand sourced on site, mixed with cement powder and color pigment. The major elements of the campus include a 500m long Hyperloop test tube, and a test platform over a dome that contains all the functional buildings of the testing center. Outside of the dome is a preserved Eco Park surrounded by 25 living quarters, all connected by secondary shuttle routes.
What happens to the testing campus when the Hyperloop technology matures? To avoid the fate of becoming another abandoned desert ghost town, the design imagines the entire campus will be repurposed as a special desert theme park, which will provide visitors a unique experience in the Mojave Desert against the backdrop of a landmark in the development of the Hyperloop.