::Master Plan for USF Botanical Gardens

::Conceptual Master Plan

::Charette Design Competition

Fall 2001 Design Charette

USF School of Architecture

Fall 2001 Design Charette

A Conservatory in a Botanical Garden

Faculty Coordinators:

Alexander Ratensky

Kyle N. Campbell

Design Challenge: To design a conservatory for the USF Botanical garden that would serve as a showpiece for the garden, respect the architectural history of the building form, and respond to Tampa’s unique subtropical climate.

Background:

The University of South Florida (USF) Botanical Garden, a resource to both the University and the Tampa Bay region, is expanding to meet the needs of its growing user base. Activities include direct support to the departments of biology and environmental sciences, the Colleges of Performing and Visual Arts and Education, as well as outreach and service to the general public.

Specifically, the mission of the Garden is to promote public awareness, appreciation, and conservation of plant life in our environment. The primary purpose of the Botanical Garden is to develop living plant collections, garden displays, educational programs and research programs which promote knowledge and understanding of plant life and the conservation of plant biodiversity. In pursuit of this mission, the USF Botanical Garden’s current and proposed programs directly support the USF mission of teaching, research and public outreach. The Garden’s plan provides both short and long-term strategies to address the development needs of the Garden to assist it in better meeting the needs of the community and enhance its ability to fulfill its mission. This plan envisions a future garden that has the potential to greatly enhance the quality of campus life by providing enjoyment, recreation, informal education and an aesthetic experience for the USF and Tampa Bay area communities.

To better meet its goals the botanical garden has recently commissioned a master plan from the University master planners Sasaki and Associates. Their key future land use drawing, showing buildings, is appended to this program statement. The signature component of the proposed landscape displays is the proposed conservatory, which should be of the highest quality design and construction and must capture the imagination of visitors.

Your task for the duration of the charette will be to design the conservatory, shown as number 3 on the master plan. This building will be the primary display area for fragile plants from other ecosystems that cannot survive outdoors in the local climate. Within reasonable limits, you may rearrange the location of the Conservatory and its associated buildings and planted areas, but you must respect the general site allocations of the master plan. Building 4, listed as a "green house," will be the primary working area sometimes referred to as "back of house" for growing plants that will be used in the conservatory. Additional details concerning the form of the building include these excerpts from the Botanical Garden master plan:

"It was established that it would be highly desirable to have direct linkages between key use areas, including the proposed Conservatory facility and the proposed Education Center building; between the multipurpose room and the event garden; between the Conservatory and its back-up greenhouse; between heavily used demonstration, education, and display gardens and the main building restrooms; and between the garden shop and the main entrance."

Further-on the document continues:

"The Conservatory is proposed as a modular structure that may have a tall ceiling central area with wings subject to climate control. This would allow for the development of partitioned dry, wet, hot, and cool areas within the Conservatory. The primary access would be from the west. The yard area to the east of the Conservatory could be used for the related outdoor display space or as a service area devoted to Conservatory support. The back-up greenhouse is linked to the Conservatory via the arcade. North of the back-up greenhouse is an area designated for research greenhouses. Maintenance, nursery, and production areas are located in the northeast corner of the building complex. These would be served by a service gate on Pine Street to the east."

Despite the above description, and the form shown on the actual Master Plan drawing, no specific building form should be assumed. Modern high-strength materials, zoned mechanical systems utilizing air-curtains, and more prosaic partitions, can provide for the environmental isolation described without dictating a particular form. Accordingly, do not be constrained by the building form shown on the Master Plan drawing itself or described above. What should be noted is that the history of this building type (often referred to as a greenhouse) has been largely evolved in more temperate zones. The examples given, from Kew Gardens, in London, and others exemplify this history. Of particular interest should be the Princess of Wales House, also at Kew, which is a modern example of a conservatory, and which also provides several artificially tempered microclimates for plants that do not usually grow in the English climate. Also provided are examples from environments planned for a climate that more closely resembles ours. Therefore, your design should respond in some way to the history of greenhouses, a building type with an approximately 150 year history while accommodating the environmental considerations of a subtropical climate.

Requirements:

The building must be presented in plan, section, elevation, and perspective views. A model is also required.

Drawings:

The drawings should be on 3 presentation boards (24"x 36" ea.). These boards should only include paper materials and should not have any relief. An envelope sealed and taped to the back of the presentation with the students names enclosed inside must accompany each project. The group number should be written on the outside of the envelope.

Site Plan at 1/20"=1'

Plan(s) at 1/8"=1'

Sections (minimum 2) at 1/8"=1'

Elevations (all facades to be shown) at 1/8"=1'

Perspectives (or other oblique views) in color (no scale)

Model:

1 Model at Scale:1/8"=1' (Only the immediately adjacent areas of the site need be included)

Factors to consider in your design include:

· ways to modulate the sunlight

· emergency heating for cold weather and for the occasional hard frosts Tampa receives

· mechanical and passive ventilation generally

· separate climate controlled space to accommodate plants from other climate zones (i.e. deserts, temperate)

And the following elements as they affect the design

· drainage

· plumbing

· electrical service

· materials

· structure

Schedule:

9/6 Thursday 1 – 1:30pm Presentation

9/7 Friday 9:30 – 11am Onsite visit to Botanical Garden

11:30am-12:30pm Questions SACD—Large Classroom

12:30-4:00pm Required Studio Time at SACD

9/9 Sunday Midnight Projects Due to Professor Zylstra 9/13 Thursday 5 pm Judging

9/14 Friday 4:30 pm Awards Presentation and Reception

Questions:

A single meeting to respond to questions from participants will be held on Friday morning at 11:30 a.m. Each team should send at least one representative. Even if you have no questions you must send a representative so you will learn the answers to questions raised by others. Only in this way will all teams participate on an equal footing.

Prizes: Cash p rizes(courtesy of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council, Int'l.) will be structured as follows:

· $500 1st prize

· $300 2nd prize

· $200 3rd prize

The jury reserves the right to change the prizes in the event of a tie.

In addition to cash prizes, the following will be awarded:

· Annual passes for the Museum of Science and Industry

· USF Botanical Garden memberships

Sponsors:

We would like to thank the University of South Florida Botanical Garden, the Rare Fruit Council International, and the Museum of Science Industry for sponsoring our charette this year.