Currently a potentially dangerous situation exists where hiking trails cross the vehicular entrance road. Cars are often moving faster than they should and hikers, as one might expect, are not prepared to meet up with automobiles. The combination of both conditions creates a problem that could be tragic.
The best solution to this problem is to avoid hiker/car intersections completely. But since we are faced with an existing situation that does not allow non-intersection, other strategies must be employed. Conditions must be created at all car/hiker crossings where both parties are alerted to impending conditions. It must be made difficult for children to dart directly onto the roadway and adults need numerous cues indicating that a change in alertness is required. Drivers must also be alerted to hikers crossing their path and must be encouraged to slow down in a way that allows them to begin to 'sync' with the pace of the Center's natural environs. Subtle roadway narrowing at intersections may help this situation as well as a low wall for sitting and blocking the direct path of hikers. This may also be accomplished by a lightweight wooden gate at the threshold of the path at the road Drivers can be alerted by grooving the pavement a few hundred feet before any crossing.
Often, people will build on the best part of a property. Unfortunately, the new structure then has a degrading effect on the property as a whole since now the best part is gone and the marginal parts remain.
See the property as a whole entity and look for the weakest part as a place where new construction can help to heal the situation. This approach preserves the strongest parts of the land and strengthens the weakest. It only makes sense.
Many of today's buildings are designed to be well-insulated, lightweight, thin-skinned shells augmented with the latest technology in heating, cooling, air control, and communications. Buildings of this type have tended to be high users of energy (especially for cooling), technology dependent (requires highly trained person to operate, equipment quickly becomes obsolete), and because their shells are lightweight, their life expectancies are relatively short.
Rather, the focus should be on building a very stable, well-insulated, massive and self-shading shell. Such a focus will decrease the building's reliance on both energy and technology, allowing the Center to serve it's purpose over a much longer than typical span of time. The mass of the building plays a strong role in creating a useful 'energy flywheel' which helps the Center stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. During the summer, natural ventilation can be used to cool the building's mass at night, allowing it to absorb heat gain during the day, which minimizes the need for air conditioning. During the winter, desired heat gain is effectively stored in the building's mass, storing the energy for use at night, as well as keeping the Center from overheating from good solar harvesting days in spring and fall. With permanent selective shading of the building, the proper kinds of solar energy can be allowed into the Center for either daylighting or passive heating purposes, or both. With much of the hard energy work being done by the building shell, extensive technology is avoided and simpler systems can be contemplated.
The present Center facility does not have the capacity to be sustainable into the future. The longer it stays in service, the more energy is wasted, material degradation takes place, indoor air quality drops and usability suffers.
Take care to harvest the current structure rather than demolish it. Markets are available for used building components and recyclable materials. Take all but the most stable portions of the concrete footings and foundations, these parts will become the base for useable outdoor surfaces. A nature center that has a high degree of public use soon realizes the need for outdoor space that can sustain intense pedestrian traffic, as during the arts festival, leaving the more fragile trails and habitat much less trammeled. Terracing over old foundations provides such space without reducing the stock of natural habitat. The new terrace will also continue to provide Center visitors with a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, albeit out of doors.
What distinguishes the transition from our more normal world into a realm where our awareness must shift to a more sensitive mode, where our behavior should align itself with the interconnectedness of the natural world? Without a strong transition, our street behavior tends to drag along with us, blunting the sharp sensitivity we need to appropriately interact with the natural environment.
Effort should be made to clearly mark the front gateway into the property. A change in road texture, direction, view and feeling must combine to give the entering visitor strong cues of a change in venue. Locate the new gatehouse between the ingress and egress lanes and light it in such a way as to produce a welcoming glow after sundown.
It seems strange and unnatural to enter a nature center through a parking lot, yet to create a drive that goes directly to the drop-off area without parking along that drive means that more of the property ends up being covered with asphalt.
The solution to this dilemma lies in breaking the parking lot into a number of palatable pieces, thereby reducing the impact of the automobile on the site and keeping the area of asphalt to a minimum. Make pockets of parking spaces containing 9 to 10 cars each. Separate the pockets with green thresholds, made of both deciduous and conifer trees so as to maintain the effect in the winter months. By maintaining the one-way drive system already in place, drive lane width can be reduced to a minimum, enhancing the effect of the green thresholds and focussing the driver's view ahead, toward the Public Outdoor Room.
A building can be designed to be daylit and to be passively heated by the sun, but if the sun can't be “seen” by the building, all is for naught.
On a site like the Schlitz Audubon Center property, trees play a major role in how the whole place feels. The current building is virtually invisible in the summer because of it's woodland setting, giving the building an integrated-into-the-landscape look. The downside of such a setting is; one, daylighting through windows is not feasible in the summer since sunlight is completely screened, two, mold and mildew have a much better chance to grow abundantly in and around the building, and three, trees block the availability of sunlight for passive heating in the fall, before leaves drop. It is critical, therefore, that the new Center creates an open window to the sun on its south facing facades. One of the many roles of the Outdoor Public Room will be to insure the openness of this window into the future.
If a nature trail doesn't have a recognizable starting point, it is difficult for a group and leader to gracefully and effectively begin an organized trail hike. It is also difficult for unaccompanied hikers to see where the trails are.
The jump-off points for the trails should be easily recognized, but not marked in such a way as to give them an amusement park feeling. The trail head should allow enough room for a leader to gather a group of hikers in a circle and prepare them for the experience ahead. At the same time there should be room for unaccompanied hikers to easily move past the circle and on to the trail. A trailhead can be augmented with a place to sit and an informational marker that prepares the hiker for what is ahead. The trail heads must be visible from the public indoor parts of the Center, allowing immediate access on foot or wheelchair. Where possible, make a grouping or family of trailheads, giving the visitor a clear choice of hike direction and type.
Without a dry place to be during inclement weather, and still be outside, the life of the Public Outdoor Room would be greatly reduced. When that outdoor protected place is located at the Center's Main Entrance, it can also act as a transition into the Center, blurring the edge between inside and out.
The front porch should provide the visitor with a host of spatial and environmental changes from the Public Outdoor Room, signaling the entrance to the Center. The porch should be raised slightly, textures, colors, smells and direction and speed of travel should change. The shape of the shadows cast by the porch should be interesting and eye catching, forming the main focus of the Outdoor Room. The porch should be large enough to allow a couple of small groups to gather without creating a bottleneck at the entrance door(s). Make the porch ample enough to place raptor cages along quieter edges, allowing the birds to greet visitors.
Without a place for a large group of people to be together outside (besides the parking area), the Center will isolate itself from the outdoor setting to which it is dedicated.
A public outdoor room has a number of critical roles at the Center: When sheltered from cold winds and open to southern exposure, the room can significantly extend the season of outdoor use in spring and fall. This room will work well when its edges are actively used, classrooms along an edge of the public outdoor room support both spaces. Large groups arriving at the center can organize themselves in such a place in preparation for entering the building. Visitors arriving by car need a space large enough to help in cleaning off the inevitable “road face” one acquires on today's highways. This large transitional boundary zone needs a life of its own to function properly: this includes, a marker roughly in the middle, well defined edges, a coherent shape, places to be under shelter from both rain and sun, and a clear view to the Center's main entrance. If access to toilet rooms from the outside is deemed necessary, make the access from the Public Outdoor Room.
Sometimes classrooms are thought of as a rooms, well sized and equipped, but isolated within a building, accessed by an internal corridor. Windows to the outside are essential, but if students cannot move in and out freely and easily, the critical need for a connection to the outdoors will be lost.
To make the in-out transition smooth and comfortable, the area just outside the door should be protected from rain and snow. The floor materials in this transition area must resist heavy wear, mud and melting snow and should be easily maintained. The windows and doors should be equipped with screens providing cross ventilation. Hooks, shelves and/or hangers for coats and boots should be near-by. Easy access to the trail-heads is a must. Care should be taken to avoid distractions for students when working outdoors. Screening should be used in such a way to maintain a connection to the Outdoor Public Room, yet still allow students to focus on the work at hand. The openness and light-filled nature of these classrooms poses a problem to teachers using slide projectors, overhead projectors and video display. Make certain that the room can be darkened easily.
The “business” end of a building is typically a dirty, smelly affair, where the garbage is kept and deliveries are made. It is usually screened from view with no one going there unless they have to. This kind of space in endemic to our current throwaway culture and cannot be tolerated at the S.A.C., where ”waste” is as important in our thinking as “food”.
The Service Yard at the S.A.C. is a working yard, an outdoor workshop. It is where trucks and cars make their closest connection to the Center. For the Yard to avoid being the throwaway space we are accustomed to, it must support the need of the staff to conduct projects in an open, pleasant environment. A large overhead door into the building must be sheltered from rain and snow, the protected area being large enough to allow the continuation of a work project in inclement weather. The edges of the 'room' should be roughly defined with a variety of elements including a low sitting wall and an area to store exterior materials used on the Center grounds. The smells normally associated with an area like this will be eliminated through organic waste composting and a garbage disposal which will put pulverized food waste into the engineered Wetland system, provided needed nutrients. The openness and light-filled nature of these classrooms poses a problem to teachers using slide projectors, overhead projectors and video display. Make certain that the room can be darkened easily.
The process of getting off the bus at a new place can be daunting, especially for small children and their teachers. If it is not clear what to do or where to go, anxiety can replace the enjoyment of discovery.
Make a clear place for the bus driver to 'dock' the bus. This dock must be visible from a place in the Center so that the greeter can be alerted and make haste for the dock. As the children emerge from the bus, there must be adequate space to allow everyone to gather and still allow others to pass by. The Main entrance should be clearly visible from the bus dock.
In our culture, the water runoff from parking lots and building roofs are often referred to as a waste product, something to be shunted away as quickly as possible. This attitude has greatly contributed to the overabundance of surface water and its associated environmental problems; erosion and flooding.
Every effort must be made to collect water from the roof and parking lot of the center. This water can then be used periodically to charge the New Wetlands Demonstration. Excess water can be deposited within a native plant area near the building where it can be more easily reabsorbed into the soil.
When the toilet flushes, does anyone care where it's contents go? Part of our cultural disconnection from the potentially harmful effects of our 'elimination' of wastes seems to stem somewhat from an inability to visualize what actually happens when we flush.
The creation of an 'engineered' wetlands waste water treatment system can go a long way in educating people to see the interconnectedness of all things, including what goes down the bowl. It is also helpful in explaining the essential role natural wetlands play in the cleansing of the earth's water. The Wetlands need to be near the center for both operational and educational reasons. Care must be taken to locate it on land already prone to water.
A building without an essential, defining place, a deeply memorable center, joins the ranks of forgettable structures produced in the last half of the 20th century. How many faceless office buildings have been made from hallways and offices and little else?
The Schlitz Audubon Center cannot become faceless, its mission requires that a deep and lasting impression be made on those visiting its grounds and buildings. It is critical to the Center to have a core place, a place that embodies the essential nature of the Center's being. A place where it can become evident that we have a place in the world and our continuance depends on recognizing our interconnectedness with the natural environment. This place must be well connected to the outdoors, cannot be air-conditioned, and be supported by the bookstore, refreshments, exhibit alcoves, and hearth. The Great Screened Hall should have a hydronically heated floor slab to provide creature comfort in the winter while allowing the ambient temperature of the room to be lower than typical. The Great Hall seems the correct place to feature the 12 Aldo Leopold logs being donated to the project. These logs should retain their tree qualities and not be processed as timbers.
Once inside many modern buildings, one is often detached from views to the outside, especially once in hallways and corridors leading to destinations within. One is often disoriented, with no outdoor landmarks visible to help with wayfinding. Time of day is difficult to determine when deprived of natural light.
Make certain that the indoor public realm is continually linked to the outside via view windows, glass doors, clerestories or skylights. It should be clear from anywhere in the building where one is relative to key points outside like the Public Outdoor Room, the Lake, the North Meadow, etc.
In the workplace, if it is not easy and natural for the disparate members of the staff to informally engage one another, an entire level of communication fails to take place. Regular staff meetings, newsletters and memos cannot come close to replacing informal interchange between staff members.
Create a place within the Center, away from the public realm, where staff would typically go to make copies, get a cup of coffee, check mailboxes, etc. Give this place enough room for a number of small conversations to occur simultaneously. Provide a modicum of informal seating and an excellent view to the outside. The Hearth should be along the main thoroughfare traveled by the majority of the staff during the day.
Volunteers often find themselves in an awkward position. One who volunteers energy and time to a cause is very aware of the need for the organization to be frugal, yet, if their contributions are not acknowledged, supported or recognized in some concrete way, the experience may not be fully satisfying.
The Center must create a special place within its facility dedicated to volunteers. It will establish, without question, the Center's support for volunteer efforts, recognizing in a silent way, their essential contribution. It must be close to the heart of staff activity so that volunteers can feel the pulse of the place without feeling like they are in the way of paid staff. The Volunteer Hearth should be large enough to support work efforts like newsletter assembly, enhance camaraderie, and should offer refreshments, personal effects security and a wonderful view to the outside. The Hearth should be so located as to bring volunteers through a good portion of the Center on their way from the parking area.
Sometimes it seems that a place like the Audubon Center could become overly commercialized if the book/gift shop is pushed at the visitor. Nothing could be further from the truth...
The book and gift shop are critical to rounding out the visitor's need for information. In fact, if the shop were treated more like an educational exhibit, it could be a more effective tool in disseminating the knowledge so essential to the educational mission of the Center. The shop should feel like it can spill out into the public realm, weaving into the path of every visitor. Adequate internal circulation space should be provided the shop to avoid bottlenecking when large numbers of customers appear at once. A busy shop should also avoid creating a blockage to visitor traffic moving past.
In a building where most everyone is expected to trudge in and out, in all kinds of weather, through mud, snow, thistles and rain, the tracking in of dirt and moisture becomes a major issue to deal with.
Besides the consideration of an appropriate flooring material in the most public parts of the Center, the creation of roomy and useful vestibules seems to be an answer to the use-during-inclement-weather scenario. Often a vestibule is only a small room, the only purpose of which is to limit the loss of conditioned air at the main entry points into the building
Exhibits play a key role in deepening the understanding of visitors to the Center and act as teaching tools for educators. Currently these two uses cannot occur simultaneously without general confusion, bottlenecking, and/or class interruption.
Place the exhibits in alcoves that border the Great Screened Hall so that groups of children studying the exhibit will not hinder the movement of other visitors in the Hall. Create a variety of alcove sizes to accommodate a greater flexibility in exhibit design and installation. As with the Bookstore, allow the exhibits to spill out into the Hall where appropriate.
Studies of visitors to museums often sight the need for a visitor to decompress during their stay at a facility. Faced with voluminous amounts of new information, a person needs time to reflect and digest what is being presented. Without such places, a visitor's average stay at the facility will be demonstrably shortened.
Make a series of places to sit, reflect and drink tea or coffee. To suit the needs of a diverse visiting public create a gradient of coffee places from active to passive, from the edge of the Great Hall to quiet spots with views to the outdoors, to outdoor terraces.
Our Wisconsin winter tends to be long and oftentimes dreary. Hiking out of doors during the cold months of the year can be made much more enjoyable when one knows there is a crackling fire and warm drinks at trail's end.
Make a place at the Center that contains a fire. The fireplace should be generously sized so that a group of 8 or 10 can comfortably gather before it. This fireplace room is generally called an inglenook and has a low ceiling and cozy places to sit at varying distances from the fire. Make the inglenook an alcove off the Great Screened Hall so that the fire is visible from the main path of visitors and hikers once they enter the Center.
Most of the work we do involves both working as individuals and as groups, but many workplaces tend to lack a helpful balance between the two. In some cases, where most everyone works in private spaces with only corridors leading to traditional conference rooms for group work, isolation can easily occur, greatly reducing the amount of informal communication that helps organizations stay coherent. On the other hand, where most everyone works in a large open room in undifferentiated workplaces, individual concentration is difficult, noise is high and constant over-stimulation can be bothersome.
Provide a gradient of workplace enclosure that spans the range of work type taking place at the Center. Work types can be roughly grouped into four 'categories': CELL: for those whose work requires intense concentration with little interruption or who require a high degree of privacy, i.e. attorney, researcher. HIVE: for those who work in groups, doing the same kinds of tasks with little discretion, i.e. typing pool, telephone center, stock trade bullpen. DEN: project or group work of a straightforward kind needing a changing balance of different, interdependent skills. CLUB: high-level work carried out by talented independent individuals who need to work both collaboratively and individually. Use enclosed offices and meeting spaces to form larger rooms for open workplaces, avoiding the 'sea of cubicles' syndrome. Avoid hallways that are single purpose spaces, that only accommodate getting from point A to point B, in fact, try to avoid hallways altogether in the office portions of the Center.