prairie ridge eco-lodge
location: Raleigh, NC
est. completion date: TBA
project team:
Frank Harmon
Erin Sterling
Will Lambeth
problem statement
Phase Two is poised to expand Prairie Ridge Eco-station’s mission into exciting new territory. It will include a 40-student residential dormitory with housing for teachers and visiting researchers, a large multi-purpose room, a wet lab, staff offices, and site exhibits. Like the Open Air Pavilion, the new facility must demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between built and natural environments by embracing “green,” or sustainable building technology, which produces buildings that are as healthy for the environment as they are for the people who use them.
The overriding thought behind Phase Two is that the prairie – both landscape and wildlife -- must come first. Therefore, the building must not dominate the natural site, but rest lightly upon it and enhance the view of nature.
our design response
Constructed of reclaimed Atlantic white cedar, the Lodge will be tucked behind an earth berm. The building will be configured to frame vistas of the prairie and positioned to allow those who use it to simply step from the building’s porches into the natural environment. The first of these porches will greet visitors as they arrive at the Eco-Station and frame a dramatic view of the prairie beyond. It will also collect storm water, insulates and cool the roof, eliminates thermal hot spots, emit oxygen, and blur the line between the built structure with the prairie
At every point in the building, nature is invited in, both physically and visually. The four-person dorm rooms, which will house bunk beds for students, are designed to function as “little porches,” with multi-position, operable shutters and screening to make the most of prevailing breezes yet protect students from inclement weather and insects. The roofline’s deep overhangs will also protect the interior from the high summer sun yet allow the sun’s warmth inside during cooler months. The Lodge’s open, airy multi-purpose room, crowned in heat-reflective metal roofing, will include a kitchen and dining facilities as well as ample space for conferences, lectures, and meetings. Other “green” features will include: photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity, solar collection panels that use the sun’s free energy to heat water, and geothermal heating and cooling, and the use of recycled, reclaimed and regional materials for construction, rainwater collection cisterns to be used for toilets, and a storm water management system that will eliminate that serious form of pollution.
With Prairie Ridge Lodge, the N.C. Museum of Natural Science’s field station will be complete. Educators from around the state will enjoy a new and exciting, living venue for teaching students about nature as they study and live within it.
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