Solar Cube - Santa Ana, CA
Posted by: 
DopeyDuck
N 33° 46.239 W 117° 52.067
11S E 419646 N 3737064
The face of the southwestern side of the large Discovery Science Center Cube is actually a large solar panel grid containing 560 photovoltaic panels.
Waymark Code: WM5HF3
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/08/2009
Views: 21
Facts About the Cube From http://www.discoverycube.org/
General Information
* The solar Cube is 108 feet tall from base to tip, and 64 feet per side.
* It is made of 2636 struts (steel tubes 5 feet long and 5 inches to 9 inches in diameter) which weigh up to 200 pounds each.
* The Cube is held together by 667 nodes (round balls anywhere from 5 inches to 12 inches in diameter). These two components make up a “space frame” design.
* The Cube is supported at three points; one point is on the ground and the others rest on the science center building. These points are supported on two steel A-frames.
Cube Renovation
* From February 2003 to May 2003, the solar Cube at Discovery Science Center underwent a top-to-bottom renovation to make the Cube produce more energy for the science center.
* In April 2003, a total of 560 photovoltaic panels from BP Solar replaced the 464 original panels on the southwest face of The Cube, the side that receives the most sunlight.
* Four additional sides of the Cube are now covered with 395 panels of perforated metal from Woodbridge Glass in Irvine.
* Vibrant fiber optic strands of lighting from Lumenyte were added around the edges of The Cube for a spectacular nighttime view. The Cube was lit for the first time on May 14, 2003.
* Labor and panels donated: Much of the funding and support including labor, engineering and product for the Cube’s renovation was donated by San Clemente-based New Vision Technologies and BP Solar.
* The original solar panels can be purchased for home, office or other use by contacting New Vision Technologies at 949-218-0235.
How the Cube was Conceived
There are three perfect 3D geometric shapes in nature: the sphere, the pyramid and the cube. Architecturally, the sphere has been built at Disneyworld and the pyramid has been built at the Louvre, the Luxor in Las Vegas and the California State University, Long Beach basketball arena.
The Cube has not been built before. Thus, Discovery Science Center architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia of Arquitectonica thought that The Cube would be the perfect icon for Orange County’s science center. The Board of Directors concurred and it was incorporated into the center’s plans.
How the Cube was Engineered
The design/build construction firm, Advanced Structures Inc. took Fort-Brescia’s idea and “translated” it into a 64-foot-on-a-side structure. First a computer model of The Cube was designed, then, applying the design parameters, the size of the more than 3000 members (the struts and nodes) was determined. The calculations were so numerous they would measure three feet high on legal paper.
How the Cube was Built and Installed
Because it is such a huge, heavy structure, The Cube was assembled by hand on the ground in subsections at ARB (a steel construction firm) in Lake Forest. Once completed, the subsections were transported from Lake Forest to Santa Ana on flatbeds and a crane hoisted them into position. The assembly took approximately four weeks. The original array of photovoltaic panels was designed by Solar Design Associates and produced by BP Solarex. It took two weeks to install the panels. The new solar voltaic panels were manufactured by BP Solar and are being installed by New Vision Technologies in San Clemente. Woodbridge Glass of Irvine, California, is installing the 395 perforated metal panels.
Type of system: Photovoltaic (electrical)
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