In addition to having the ability to go off the grid, the structure itself is constructed of high-recycled content steel and recycled content shade cloth. The floor of the Prairie Hopper is lined with modular, xeriscaped planting trays that house native prairie grasses, cacti and several hundred additional species that can thrive without regular irrigation.
The shade screens that line the sides of the pavilion were designed to variably articulate to provide optimized shading for the sports viewers within. Solar thermal collectors provide potable, sanitary hot water and building-scale wind turbines and high-efficiency photovoltaicsgive the Hopper the ability to be completely self-powered.
According to the architects, the project “was deployed 55 days from napkin-sketch, through detailed design, fabrication, assembly, and delivery” and “remote team collaboration was facilitated by a central BIM database and various social networking applications.” And if that’s not cool enough for you, they provided all of their professional services pro-bono in the interest of advancing environmental education and construction prefabrication technologies.
+ Anderson Anderson Architecture
