Base Camp Sarasota » Documents

Challenge your creative muse in Sarasota. Assemble a team in advance or join others at RSC06 to form a discovery team that will provide key input into the world’s first sustainable biological field station, Base Camp Sarasota!

This project will provide a “base camp” for research and education that will guide future land use policy and environmental decisions based on both economics and biology. Base Camp Sarasota is part of a larger initiative known as the Florida Institute for Integrative Land Use being jointly developed by Sarasota County Government, New College of Florida, the University of Florida and the Florida House Institute.

After conducting preliminary scientific and architectural explorations into the project’s feasibility over the past year, Sarasota County has dedicated five acres of pristine natural environment within a 54,000-acre site at its Carlton Reserve. This area, called the Horse Pond site, is representative of the many wetland features of the Carlton expanse. The site has an excellent diversity of habitat and an aura of natural beauty that will make it ideal for small conferences and for activities such as biomimicry workshops.

Research conducted at the field station will result in the first comprehensive biological inventory of the region and provide an experimental setting for assessing the ecological impacts of land use practices.

For one- or two-week periods year round, groups of up to 20 students will live onsite with their instructors. Faculty may choose to bring family to accompany them. Research, meeting and dining facilities, as well as sleeping accommodations, will be included in the overall campus plan. The goal will be to assimilate the scientists into the site; integrate them into the ecosystems.

The biological field station created on this environmentally sensitive tract will provide an excellent setting for the scientific community to study southwest Florida’s unique subtropical ecosystems. What the scientists experience and document here can be replicated worldwide by others in similar climates.

Design Challenge Sarasota County will incorporate innovative environmental design for a state-of-the-art facility in harmony with nature. This campus could become an international model using best practices of sustainable architecture.

Bring your best product, technology and design knowledge to bear for this challenge. Sarasota County recently became the nation’s first to accept the AIA’s 2030 Challenge, so carbon neutrality will be an essential element. Explore cutting-edge solutions with colleagues from around the world. Leave something of lasting significance behind.

At approximately 4,000 square feet, the field station will be modular and include a laboratory accommodating 8-10 researchers, a library/classroom/lecture space, space for three offices, a two-bedroom residential unit for scientists conducting long-term research; a bunkhouse with five rooms accommodating four persons in each, plus two bathrooms; a covered porch; a dining/meeting area that can serve 60; and a full kitchen. Adequate adjacent parking of crushed shell and grass will connect to the main Carlton Reserve parking area.

There are some site challenges: Ecosystems here include wetlands with seasonal ponds, oak-palm hammock, open pine flatwoods with a burning regime and public access areas to study human impact. The terrain is wet, with up to four feet of standing water, during part of the year. Sarasota County is a prime hurricane target.

The Challenge will be launched from 1-5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, at the Ritz-Carlton. Interested in a site field trip on your own in advance?

Outcomes will be evaluated on all systems:

Foundation
Built
Energy
Water
Wastewater

Considerations: Go light on the land. Optimize sustainable products and practices.

Snuggle into the landscape
Maximize natural light
Minimize habitat disturbance
Incorporate natural materials and aesthetics so that users feel they are out in nature even when they are inside
Maximize ecosystem awareness with views, aspects and pulling the outdoors inside
Incorporate local or sustainable materials with scientific interpretation into all design elements
Provide museum quality messages that give the user some take-home messages
Involve users in the mission of the building, with such components as an aerial map to pinpoint bird nests, a daily weather chart, a plant and bird list— all in a public place so people can participate in ecosystem monitoring
Create modular plan scalable for future growth and friendly to these intended residents: student scientists/faculty/family friendly. Requires dormitory for 20 students; sleeping accommodations for faculty and families; cooking and dining facility; research and meeting facilities
Consider zero- or near-zero energy, biomimetic/biomimic design

Category: Documents, Research & Education | Comment

DRAFT VERSION of possible grant applications to support Base Camp Sarasota

Posted on June 14th, 2006

This draft represents an outline appropriate to ‘cut-and-paste’ for future grant applications to support aspects of Base Camp Sarasota:

Grant funds will be used to develop and produce the architectural design plan for Base Camp Sarasota—a biological field station to be built in the Carlton Reserve on five acres contributed to the project by Sarasota County. Base Camp Sarasota will attract some of the world’s foremost scientists and ecologists to study the unique subtropical ecosystems of Southwest Florida, providing a “base camp” for research and education that will guide future land use policy and environmental decisions based on both economics and biology. Base Camp Sarasota is part of a larger initiative known as the Florida Institute for Integrative Land Use being jointly developed by Sarasota County Government, New College of Florida, the University of Florida, and the Florida House Institute.
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Category: Documents, Progress | Comment