Building to educate – and to protect a wetland

Florida is now the second most-populous state in the U.S. More people moving there naturally threatens the state's rich native habitas, but here's how one architecture firm ensures that people and nature – salamanders in particular – can peacefully co-exist.

Bullock Tice Associates of Pensacola was tasked with respecting the complex ecosystem of a bog while designing a new campus for Pensacola State College that serves the important education and economic needs of this growing region. The firm also tackled the perpetual challenge of energy use in the Sunshine State, which it did with a tight building envelope and solar shading systems developed through the use of building information modeling (BIM) and solar tracking software. Beneficial interior daylighting was preserved – as was the home of those salamanders and their ecosystem.

Photo: The South Santa Rosa campus of Pensacola State College is built on property donated by an estate. The land was typical of Florida, with much of it underwater in a bog (clay-bottomed wetland with no natural outflows) that supports stub-kneed cypress trees and micro-climate amphibious species. Now the second most-populous state in the country, Florida has 11.4 million acres of environmentally-sensitive wetlands.

Russ Klettke is a business writer with accumulated experience in sustainable design, manufacturing, law, finance, real estate, nutrition, fitness and general wellbeing. Contact him to discuss your organization's communications needs.