Floor Plan
Gallery Space
Reception
Camouflage Simulation Room
An exciting feature will be our camouflage simulation room. The inside of the room will be a miniature replica of a corner of the rainforest. Trees and plants will be “planted” all around the room. Mirrors on the back wall will make the infinitely multiply. One large curved wall will have a projection with audio/visual footage from the Amazon. The perspective view tress on the screen and the concave wall will also make the room feel larger. These elements will create an optical illusion of the same infinity one would experience in the rainforest. Various animals that the learners will be studying will appear in random locations around the room through video projections. Learners will have to get to a safe location to observe and photograph the animal without being detected. This multi-sensory type of learning is designed to prepare the learners for their Amazonian experience. This room will be visible from the main lecture classroom, though one-way mirrors, for observations.
Location Analysis
The focus of the Save the Amazon Protectors: Service Learning Education Center is to contribute to the global effort to protect and rehabilitate endangered animals in the Amazon Rainforest. We will concentrate on those inhabiting the forest floor and the Amazon River. Wild animals in the Amazon Rainforest become endangered for many reasons, most of them preventable by humans. SADLY, “Deforestation, climate change, illegal hunting and environmental contamination are constant threats to the livelihoods and habitats of many species of Amazon animals that rely on the forests and ecosystems surrounding the Amazon River to survive and thrive.”
Our main goal at Save the Amazon Protectors: Service Learning Education Center is to document and photograph these animals, collect information for further education and keeping record of the effects of conservation efforts in place. Classroom content will also emphasize the great role that humans play on our planet. We want the people who go through this experience to be able to inform and inspire others to do their part to protect these animals and, in turn, the rainforest. Our interior will support the needs of different learning styles and provide the users with a space that will prepare them for their work in the Amazon.
Site Analysis
The chosen site for the Save the Amazon: Protectors Service Learning Education Center is in Miami, FL, on an empty lot on the northeast corner of SW 3rd Avenue and SW 6th Street. The site is approximately 60,000 square feet, so there is more than enough room for our building and a parking lot. In Phuong’s Sense of Place article, he states the definition of feng-shui as the art of placing a structure on a site so it is in harmony with its surroundings, both natural and man-made.4 Miami is a perfect example of a city with both natural and man-made features to work around, particularly on our site. To the east, we have the interstate. To our northwest, we have the Miami River, and a cluster of very tall buildings. We’ll place our building as far west on the site as possible, in order to catch shade from the buildings and have the view of the river from our interior. Extra trees will be planted on the west side of the building, to mitigate heat buildup from the setting sun as well as the noise from the interstate. Because of our large windows, the roof will have a large overhang to utilize passive solar design.
AMAZON RAINFOREST EDUCATION CENTER
SERVICE LEARNING SPACE | 3,700 SQFT | 3 WEEKS | FALL 2016
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The focus of the Save the Amazon Protectors: Service Learning Education Center is to contribute to the global effort to protect and rehabilitate endangered animals in the Amazon Rainforest. Because of this, our chosen concept is a very famous endangered animal in the Amazon: the jaguar. The interior will reflect the jaguar’s colors (but not necessarily its print), as well as the colors of its Amazonian habitat. It will also allude to jaguar characteristics such as its compactness, through furniture pieces, and its swift movements in the wild. The design will also convey the jaguar’s fierceness. The Protectors attack learning fiercely, so the learning spaces must reflect this. Our main lecture classroom will feature flexible furniture to accommodate different activities. On the back wall will be a one-way mirror with a view into the adjoining education space: the camouflage simulation room. Danko’s Humanizing Design article highlights the importance of narrative in learning.1 See “Over-and-Above Feature” for more about how this exciting space takes narrative learning to the next level.
In agreement with our focus on doing our part as humans to coexist with the environment and its animals, we will be using only natural and locally/sustainably sourced materials and energy saving opportunities wherever possible. We add windows to maximize natural light and have a roof with a large overhang to mitigate head buildup. We’ve taken the 26 PLEA conference points that took place in Quebec, Canada, in 2009 into consideration by providing users with movable furniture, passive and low-energy, and providing an overall autonomous space.