The Ecology Center is a multifaceted nature center and research facility capable of both teaching and researching practices. The location of the center is in Hueston Woods State Park, located in Morning Sun, Ohio just a few miles down the road from Miami University. It was designed to be a space where the public could come and learn about the nature that surrounds them and view science at work. The center was to be both a place for the public as well as students from the university to explore, work and learn with different hands on techniques and opportunities available.
The idea for the design came from ants and their anthills underground. Much like a building, ants begin their nests with a ground level entrance, from there they tunnel down deeper and deeper in the Earth keeping the most important functions towards the bottom and less important towards the top. Anthills use a tunnel system to weave back and forth through the area in order to create a web of connection throughout their entire home. My building uses hallways and rooms to give a similar effect while making users weave throughout the building from hallway to room and back again. Like ants, the building also uses each chamber for a different function. Each part of the building is used for something specific, and though they overlap in adjacency, each room has a different function that is specific to that part of the building.
The different functions per room include: the entry area, the restroom area, the education area, the research area and finally the office area. Each of these functions only occur on their designated floor and don't break the boundaries of their designation.
