SKIRMISHER

New Mexico’s Spaceport America will serve as the primary operating base for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic suborbital spaceliner. The images you see here are the work of URS Corporation, and will begin construction in 2008.

According to a press statement released today, the low-lying, organic shape resembles a rise in the landscape, and will use local materials and regional construction techniques.

“A careful balance between accessibility and privacy is achieved, as visitors and astronauts enter the building through a deep channel cut in the landscape,” the statement noted. “The walls will form an exhibition area leading to a galleried level above the hangar that houses the spacecraft and on through to the terminal building. Natural light enters via skylights, with a glazed façade reserved for the terminal building, establishing a platform for spectacular views onto the runway.”

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