The House creates two intimate interior courtyards, separated by the bowtie knot which houses m of communal facilities, available for all residents. At the very same spot, the building is pierced by a m wide passageway that allows people to easily move from the park area on its western edge to the water filled canals to the east. Instead of dividing the different functions of the building for both habitation and trade into separate blocks, the various functions have been spread out horizontally.
The Battery’s fusion of architecture and landscape makes up a unique complex that welcomes activity and involvement across age, ethnicity and social status. The development is characterized by a terraced plinth that can be divided into two activities: the plinth either opens towards the streets through large public foyers inviting the pedestrians to wander into and through a bazaar like retail experience or the plinth’s landscaped terraces offer pedestrians to walk over and across the site to connect the diverse neighborhoods surround The Battery. A large promenade along the southern edge of the site offers public functions, retail shops, benches, and landscaping.
Since the infrastructure is the most important element, the rest of the program is integrated with it as much as possible. In order to create a physical interface, the elevated vacuum tube wraps around itself and descends as a gentle ramp, ending in an airlock that allows for save entry and exits for pods. While the pill shaped loop of the tube forms the exterior façade of the facility, the support structure gets extended towards the interior as a sequence of concrete frames with fileted corners for lateral support.
Inside, the seating elements and extended arms serve multiple functions including as an entry and egress aid, and as storage for safety equipment, oxygen throughput and lighting. The seats can also be quickly assembled and disassembled for rear equipment access. Having undergone a rigorous and exhaustive safety process, Pegasus demonstrates many of the safety-critical systems that will be found on a commercial Hyperloop system and is equipped with a state-of-the-art control system that can detect off-nominal states and rapidly trigger appropriate emergency responses. The m interior is custom-built with occupant safety and comfort in mind, with the necessary safety equipment and controls built into the furniture.
BIG converted the former s Transitlager warehouse with an opposite twin: both the old and the new are the same size, born out of the same structural grid, but assuming different massing, geometry, and scales of use. One is straight, the other zigzagged; one is singular, the other serial; one is open and flexible, the other bespoke; public contrasts private while vibrant urban spaces complement private gardens.