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Most people probably won't
like finding out that much of the USA's most severe weather
is tracked by meteorologists working in temporary trailers
smack dab in the middle of Oklahoma's "Tornado Alley." With
the opening of the new National Weather Center in Norman,
Oklahoma, this month, all that is about to change. Designed
by Tulsa-based architecture firm Beck Design in conjunction
with LAN/Daly, the new building will house federal, state,
and local weather organizations in a state-of-the-art
facility.
The nine-story structure
has two atriums, one oriented north-south and the other
east-west, with glass curtain walls on the northeast and
southwest corners, perfect for watching the clouds roll by.
While bringing the outside in was part of the plan, the
architects also had to accommodate scientists' and students'
to darken spaces for radars and computer monitors, a
requirement they fulfilled with more than 750 roller shades
from Hunter Douglas, specified by Contract Drapery. Most
importantly, the facility was designed to protect occupants
even from a direct hit by a tornado, featuring Kevlar
panels, safe rooms designed to withstand a F5 tornado, and
the same bulletproof glass used in the post-9/11 Pentagon. More >
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