Suggested Searches

2 min read

Contemporary Building Positions Glenn to Support NASA’s Future Missions

Wide angle view of the new Research Support Building. Interior lights glowing and the sky glowing at sunrise.
Credits: NASA

As NASA’s missions evolve and the boundaries of exploration expand, the agency’s infrastructure and workforce must adapt with them.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland recently completed construction on the Research Support Building (RSB), an innovative new building designed to provide a flexible, inclusive, and collaborative workplace to meet future mission needs.

qConversation area with a large window in the background and comfortable chairs and a sofa in the foreground.
Credits: NASA

The RSB contains office space for approximately 164 Glenn employees and support service contractors who will gradually move in over the next few months. It also will serve as a campus center with a cafeteria, “hoteling spaces” for part-time teleworkers, exchange store, credit union, ATM, 16 conference rooms, training rooms, and multiple gathering spaces.

Dining area with monitors hanging from ceiling and a full wall of windows.
Credits: NASA

One of several collaborative spaces throughout the building, the dining area provides a variety of seating types to facilitate collaboration and to offer alternate work environments. 

A large feature wall in the background with colorful banners covering the wall, and tables and chairs in the foreground.
Credits: NASA

Bold feature walls with applied graphics provide colorful backdrops depicting NASA’s achievements.

New COMPASS lab shown with blue carpeting and collaborative seating.
Credits: NASA

Concurrent engineering rooms allow multiple teams to work simultaneously on different phases of a technology or project. The new state-of-the-art Collaborative Modeling for the Parametric Assessment of Space Systems (Compass) lab, for example, will be used to conduct rapid conceptual spacecraft designs for NASA, industry, and the scientific community.

Outside view of the outdoor terrace above the building entrance at twilight, with interior lights glowing against a deep blue sky.
Credits: NASA

A balcony with an outdoor terrace reaches out toward the campus main road, offering expansive views and creating a large, covered plaza that leads to the building’s main entrance.

The new building was designed by architects Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos and Andrea Steele of Andrea Steele Architecture and built by Walsh Construction.

NASA was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification in November 2021. The environmental features include extensive natural daylight, low-volatile organic compound emitting materials, and water and energy-saving fixtures and appliances. The facility also provides bicycle storage and preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles.

The RSB is part of the center’s Facility Master Plan, a multiyear effort to revitalize the central campus and renovate or replace WWII-era buildings. The new Aerospace Communication Facility, also part of the master plan, is scheduled for completion this fall.

The center will announce a ribbon-cutting ceremony this spring after the exchange store and cafeteria begin operating.

Jeannette Owens
NASA Glenn Research Center