NASA's signature building, The Vehicle (originally Vertical) Assembly Building, or VAB, is located in Brevard County, Florida, U.S. and stands at 160.3 meters, 526 ft making it the largest single-story building in the world. Construction began on August 2, 1963 when NASA commissioned the Morrison-Knudsen company to design and build the VAB. The building was completed in 1966 and is meant to withstand hurricanes and tropical storms with a foundation consisting of 30,000 cubic yards of concrete and 4,225 steel rods driven 160 feet into limestone bedrock. The main purpose of the building is to allow large pre-manufactured space vehicle components, such as the massive the Space Shuttle to be assembled.