Mayne wanted the building to function as its own scientific exhibition as well as a provocative work of architecture. So the museum design includes various sustainable features: Rainwater rolls down the slanted roof into two cisterns, which recycle up to 50,000 gallons for irrigation and flushing. Three solar collectors on the plinth roof help heat water, and most of the concrete in the project uses fly ash, slag, and other supplementary materials to reduce the carbon footprint. Since the precast panels cover most of the cube, the heat load is cut down as well.Mayne won the commission despite the fact he had not designed a museum before. It was a first new building for the client as well. Nicole Small, the CEO of the Perot, says Mayne understood the building could be a teaching tool. The way he thinks about sustainability and materials is creative and rigorous.With its Cartesian cube and its free-flowing, lavalike plinth, the Perot museum is one of Morphosiss most remarkable works to date. It mixes Euclidean geometry with hyperbolic curves, and contrasts fluid and restrained spaces.A great example of architecture as a scientific exhibition.
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