This new campus for the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida is located in Sarasota, Florida. It represents six Southwest Florida counties and these new facilities will serve the entire district. The 12-acre site is 6 acres of uplands and 6 acres of jurisdictional wetlands. The site planning challenge was to be able to satisfy the program requirements on limited and awkwardly configured available land while preserving the wetland and its required upland buffer. The decision was made to make the wetland an important design element in the site's master plan. This includes an environmentally approved series of wooden boardwalks that connect the primary site functions. Phase 1 of this project includes a 14,594 SF Administration Building housing district offices, services, retail store and conference facilities. Also in Phase 1 is the 12,495 SF program training center which will accommodate troop meetings, council and district meetings, training and related programs. This multi-purpose building can serve up to 300 people and is flexible for many uses. Future phases include an educational building and a nature center.
The buildings are designed to work within the canopy of beautiful existing oak trees and be grounded with the lad in a sensitive and delicate way. The functional areas of the buildings are defined by a series of volumetric elements that acknowledge and celebrate both the internal function as well as its relationship to the site.
All images Copyright Steven Brooke Studios
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