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MARINE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER saturation
The ACSA design competition for the proposed Salt River Bay Marine Research and Education Center located on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands is a catalyst to a process that describes the confluence between design and technology in which the nature of building systems affects and informs architecture.
diving
habitats,
Hydrolab and Aquarius, 1977-1989. The
Marine
Research
and
Education Center, a 60,000-square foot
campus,
research for
and
supports education
undergraduate
and
marine programs graduate
university students, in addition to marine science and environmental education programs for primary and
The semester long project was the design of
secondary school-aged students and for adults,
the Marine Research and Education Center, which
and
is located on a 96-acre site on the eastern
highlighting Caribbean Studies. Student designs
edge
includes
an
archeological
field
school
north
were encouraged to provide new and innovative
central coast of St. Croix. Salt River Bay,
thinking for the Marine Research and Education
which extends from ridge to reef surrounded by
Center design, and to produce the most energy-
intact red mangroves and sheltered by coral
efficient
barrier
and
designs
archeological significance, featuring remains
develop
of two prehistoric Taino villages and a ball
strategies for the educational laboratory and
court established more than 2,000 years ago. On
address the off-grid utility infrastructures
November 14, 1493, Christopher Columbus’s party
needed for the campus. The designs responded to
came ashore at Salt River Bay, the only site now
the climatic, geophysical, environmental, and
of
Salt
River
reef,
has
Bay,
along
extensive
the
cultural
and
environmentally
possible. Students integrated
design
were and
sustainable required
to
engineering
in U.S. territory visited by Columbus’s party. resource challenges of the site and its location For the last years Salt River Bay has been the
on
site
marine resources in a National Park.
of
NOAA’s
long-term National
marine Undersea
research Research
including
a
tropical
island
adjacent
to
sensitive
Program
michael garrison : technical communications studio, sp2011 With careful climate analysis in the Salt River Bay, we’ve created a master plan that links historical sites, natural habitats, a visitor’s center and our Marine Research and Education Center. maiya lewis, katie west
The building skin is a commentary on the culture of St. Croix. It reduces the scale of the building and increases the esthetic appeal and sustainability of the project. pedram mireshghi, james spence jr., roddrick west
A holistic investigation of systems uses form and structure to achieve net-zero energy usage. The sheltering canopy and multipurpose cores capture and channel flows in a sustainable loop with nature. michael boduch, kathryn cahir, warren fincher, randy maddox