Built-in Science Lessons

Not only is the building an object lesson in environmental awareness, it is also a teaching tool. In fact, the didactic quality of the Perot Museum may upstage the exhibits and displays inside.

So why did Mayne choose the form a cube seemingly floating over a landscaped plinth? In essence, the plinth is meant to symbolize an ecosystem, and is composed of rock and drought-resistant grasses native to Texas that will grow and develop over time. The building and outdoor areas merge ideas of natural resources and processes alongside human interventions such as engineering, technology and conservation. The lessons learned cut across our human role in the natural world, and the consequences of our thoughtful interaction with the earth.

The Perot Museum has been described as a living example of engineering, sustainability, and technology at work. The concrete panels themselves are used to evoke the geological striations seen in natural rock formations. The building sources local and recycled building materials, many of which are exposed and can be pointed out to visitors. Also highly evident to visitors is the sustainable podium roof and systems for solar-powered water heating. In fact, all the building's nonpotable water needs are to be met by the rainwater collection system, which captures run-off from both the parking lot and the roof and channels it into two, 25,000-gallon cisterns.

“From start to finish it's all concrete,” says Lattimore's Hickle. “It's a great sight for the Dallas skyline.”

Aesthetic Intrigue—and Efficient Performance

Mayne and his colleagues at Morphosis have been recognized for designs that are as aesthetically intriguing as they are efficient in their performance. Settling on precast concrete as the primary building material for the Perot Museum allowed the architects to combine style and long-term sustainability in a building project that called for both.

The building's end-users, ultimately, are its visitors—in particular, the young people who'll visit the museum as part of their educational and cultural development. While the structure is new, its façade offers a nod to geological history, which of course is categorized and celebrated throughout the museum's collections.

The Perot Museum itself offers plenty of educational lessons—from its environmentally responsible design elements to the science and efficiency of its construction and sustainability—all while presenting itself as part of both the landscape and the city. While on its face, precast concrete might not evoke thoughts of high-tech green design, its use yields efficiencies during the construction process and long thereafter.

In fact, concrete is a common and relatively low-tech materials choice. That's part of its appeal: Sand, water and aggregate are perpetual resources that cover the earth's crust, and they make up at least 80 percent of the typical concrete mix, according to Lionel Lemay, senior vice president of Technical Resources at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), Silver Spring, Md. “Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world, and is used in nearly every type of construction,” says Lemay.

Yet concrete is also sophisticated and highly engineered, especially when it comes to precast. Its profile as a sustainable design choice confirms this happy combination of low-tech savings and high-tech formulations. Some of the green benefits, according to Lemay, include basic green building traits that contribute to good life-cycle performance, as shown by life-cycle assessments (LCAs) reviewed by the project team:

Resource efficiency. Most concrete materials are acquired and manufactured locally. This minimizes energy use needed for transportation. The component materials generally do not require much processing, and may include ingredients otherwise destined for the landfill, such as fly ash, slag, silica fume and burned slate.

Energy efficiency. Concrete building systems combine good R-value with high thermal mass and low air infiltration, contributing to a more energy-efficient enclosure and building.

Durability. Concrete has a long service life, and it is resilient and durable. The need for renovation or repair is minimal and infrequent as compared to many other façade cladding choices. This also minimizes the future resource and energy requirements for repair, maintenance and renovation.

Local heat island and CO₂ mitigation. As a pavement, cladding and roofing material, concrete minimizes the urban heat-island effect. New light-colored concrete has a solar reflective index (SRI) exceeding 29. This solar reflectance level considered the threshold where reflectance contributes to heat island mitigation. Some concrete also may absorb CO₂ through natural carbonation, helping shrink total emissions.

Mayne and his colleagues chose concrete for its sustainability, certainly, but also for its design versatility, permanence and inherent beauty. In the end, through close coordination and collaboration with the general contractor, supplier, and fabricator, Morphosis delivered a building that is as much a part of the museum's mission as it is a home to the collections it houses. The building's concrete façade is at once modern and timeless.