Transforming Icons Studio
The Nature Center is designed for the western woods area on campus at Miami University. Its goal was to provide a place for the community and students to go to learn about the surrounding woods and for researchers to be able to study the flora and fauna in it. Its location is right off a paved walking path and near a campus road as well. There is a clearing where the building is placed with a pond to the East. Access to this structure can come from all directions and the views it can provide are amazing from every angle.
The design is based on many of the industrial structures that make up some of the surrounding landscape. It features an open entry exhibition area with a vaulted ceiling, a mezzanine half level, a fully functional research facility, and a lookout tower on the roof level. The design also has access to a 24-hour ramp that wraps around the building, not only fulfilling ADA requirements, but also providing access to the roof lookout tower even when the center is not open.
