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Many of you know that NSBE is opening its first Regional Headquarters. With humble beginnings, the Headquarters will be in Columbus, Ohio, primarily to support our explosive NSBE Jr. growth in that city, post 2007 National Convention. But imagine what a NSBE Regional Headquarters might look like in the future. I’ve been thinking about this for years, and just for fun, I’m going to throw something out there as an architectural design challenge.
There are NO plans for a Regional Headquarters like what is in my mind, but I want you to have fun and act as if there were and design a building to meet these specifications…
I’ve been thinking about this for years, and just for fun, I’m going to throw something out there as an architectural design challenge.
There are NO plans for a Regional Headquarters like what is in my mind, but I want you to have fun and act as if there were and design a building to meet these specifications… The futuristic NSBE Regional Headquarters must conform to the following specifications. |
Your design must:
- Be a single, multi-level building in the shape of a pyramid with side angles of 43, 51, or 70 degrees (you choose)
* Contain a training room capable of accommodating 100 participants with laptops.
- Contain three conference rooms: two must be large board rooms capable of seating 30 board members; one must be a small board room capable of seating 15 board members.
- Contain four small meeting areas, capable of seating 10 people
- Contain four laboratories for use by staff, visiting researchers, and interns (one lab must be related to your major, the other three must relate to other engineering disciplines of your choosing)
- Contain a machine shop
- Include ONE of the following research/test facilities: low speed wind tunnel, motion based flight simulator, supercomputer, vacuum chamber, anechoic chamber, vibration chamber, or drop tower (or a facility of your choosing)
- Contain sleeping facilities for up to 60 visiting researchers/interns and meeting attendees
- Contain storage facilities for regional assets
- Include a loading dock
- Incorporate some form of renewable energy
- Include other rooms/facilities that you think belong in a Regional Headquarters.
Recommend a location (in your region) for the headquarters and describe how the facility will resist any severe weather common to that area (e.g. earthquakes or forest fires for California, hurricanes for Florida, tornadoes for Kansas, etc.)
All NSBE members - NSBE Jr, member, Alumni, Affliate, Lifetime, Honorary - are encouraged to participate in this challenge and send in their favored design. A winner will be selected in each membership category. The prize will be bragging rights and your profile along with a feature on your design in a future issue of the E-Newsletter. Your submission should include visuals, in the form of high resolution .jpg, .gif, .png, or .tpf graphics.
Feel free to use any CAD or drawing/graphics package you choose, or you may make hand sketches and scan them in. Drawings must include dimensions. There are no upper or lower limits to the size of your proposed headquarters, other than it must be large enough to contain the above specifications. You may also attach any written descriptions in Word format and any supplemental calculations in Excel format.
You may work alone or in groups. If your submissions are of sufficient technical depth, you should also consider submitting them to USTR (undergraduates) or the Technical Poster Presentation or Technical Paper Competition (grad students, professionals). If your Region nis hosting a PCI Science Fair you are encouraged to present this opportunity to budding NSBE Jr. researchers.
Submissions will be judged based on:
25% Technical/engineering accuracy
25%Compliance with design specifications
25% Creativity
25% Aesthetic appeal
All submissions are due to techex@nsbe-ae.org by midnight (Eastern time) on November 30, 2007. Also use this email address to ask any questions. I wonder…if our Regional Headquarters looked like this, what would our World Headquarters of the future look like? How long will it be before there is a NSBE Orbital Headquarters or a NSBE Lunar Headquarters? (You know I couldn’t help but go there with my NASA background.) Good luck!
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Dr. Robert Howard, National Alumni Technical Excellence Chair
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