The Refinishing Touch Blog

This past August, U.S. government agency NASA has made a commitment to sustainability by breaking ground on a new $20.6 million structure at Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. Amongst its sustainable endeavors, the structure has been designed to consume no net energy and use 90 percent less drinkable water than similarly sized buildings.

NASA, whose research has led to some of the world’s most cutting-edge technological discoveries, is taking its technologically advanced intelligent control system, originally designed for NASA spacecrafts, and using it in its “Sustainability Base,” making it the agency’s most environmentally friendly building to date.

The intelligent control system is a computer within the Sustainability Base, and is designed to take into account current environmental information, such as the weather, to tailor the conditions within the building. The system can predict the number of people within the building by accessing electronic calendars to properly adjust the heating and cooling systems, the windows will open and close based on the computer’s analyses of surrounding breezes and temperatures, and instead of air conditioning, the structure will access geothermal wells that will be used to cool the building with naturally chilled water from underground.

NASA’s building, which is aiming for a LEED platinum plus certification, is a shining example of how new technology can be used across the spectrum to benefit the environment. Although many of these technologies have been used or even discovered from within the stars, NASA is making the most of them by bringing them back to Earth and utilizing them here. Although the building is not expected to be finished until 2011, we here at The Refinishing Touch are eagerly awaiting its completion and hoping to see many more of its kind in the future.