| She works for NASA Johnson Space Center as a senior technologist. Famous for her participation in the 'Transhub'which NASA had been development as a habitat module of the International Space Station. She aims at the realization of a habilat as cosy as one on the earth, by using resin made of corn. Her research was introduced as 'one of the best idea'in the News Week, June 26 issue, 2006. | | |
| Nest Egg
NestEgg--a commercial birdhouse design for mass production using the same principles of minimal design and optimized user functionality as well as space-rated materials for minimum carbon footprint
In the spirit of the Birdhouse Project's motto, "The Earth is our Nest", and the dedication to planetary ecology and sustainability, *NestEgg* is designed to spread the word of this idea and of the existence of green materials that are compatible with modern lifestyles.
NestEgg's concept represents my work as a space architect in many ways. The very first thing I look at in a new project are the operational requirements: how will it be used? What must it do? Whose needs must it serve? NestEgg's design meets the needs of both the humans and the birds who will use it: For the human owners it is reusable, easily assembled and cleanable; for the bird users "chickadees, sparrows, purple martins and many others of similar size and habits" it offers a shaded, well-ventilated shelter sized for one nest that is waterproof and inaccessible to predators. Once the scale and nature of the design has been determined by operations, the form is developed around the requirements of minimal mass, elegant efficiency of gesture, and archetypal quality of form. At the same time, the material quality of the product derives from the use of high-performance, biodegradable materials that are appropriate in a closed-loop environment such as our beautiful Mothership Earth.
*NestEgg* is a fully biodegradable birdhouse developed from materials tested for use in the
International Space Station's Crew Health Care System. The robust, injection-moulding grade resin used to make the birdhouse is made of cornstarch and does not emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) and is more flame resistant than PVC based plastics.
The user assembles the two halves of the house, hangs it on a nearby branch or a place on their balcony, and selects a twig from a local tree to use as the bird's perch. With this design component *NestEgg* engages the birdwatcher in joining modern industrial production techniques and space-rated materials with the immediate natural environment. At the end of each nesting season the house can be disassembled for cleaning and then reassembled for a new season of enjoyment. | | |
