Hatfield Marine Sciences Institute
Building the future of Newport through the eyes of resiliency. Designing a structure that can survive a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in a tsunami inundation zone is a herculean task – but one that didn’t shake the confidence of design team GRI, KPFF and YGH Architecture. The proposed MSI Building would be part of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. The center aims to increase the region’s capacity for marine-related education, research, outreach and engagement. The location was chosen to provide “access to the sea” and the structure provides increased laboratory capacity, and a place for students and faculty to collaborate on addressing key issues involving the coast, the ocean and ocean literacy.
Impact of tsunami events at progressive levels of size
Final land form building showcasing evacuation ramp
Resilient structure responding to soil liquefaction. The rooftop of the lab building provides vertical evacuation refuge in the event of a tsunami event. The lab wing roof contains the evacuation area while the commons wing has an exterior sloping ramp starting at the southeast corner of the site running up over the building and eventually connecting to the lab wing roof. Both buildings use a deep soil mixing ground improvement system which mitigates the liquefaction hazard and supports the buildings' spread footings.