The Cliff and The Water by Nathaniel Izard
Lake Frances is a former reservoir where an earthen dam failed in shear about twenty years ago. A unique ecology of a bottomland forest started from this time. The water from this place in Oklahoma supports people in Arkansas. Yet, the urban and agricultural development of the waters severely pollutes the Illinois River, which runs through the Lake Frances site. The Grand River Dam Authority wants to use the site as a living ecological park and observatory to help people understand the Illinois River and how people should live with it. The proposed nature centers on this page at Lake Frances use the AIA Framework for Design Excellence and the Living Building Challenge. The buildings are experiences of the place and stories about how to build in this watershed for long-term sustainability and resilience. (click images above and below to enlarge)
Taking stock of the Ecoregion, its plant communities, and challenges.
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Nathan Izard’s Lower Education and Experience Pavilion is along the Illinois River as it moves through the Lake Frances site. This exploded axonometric drawing reveals assembly strategies for lightweight, flood-resilient construction.
Kayla Hart and Virginia Hammond proposed structures designed to highlight areas of specific ecologic interest. These building rest on piston-like foundations that allow these pavilions to rise in floodwaters.
Sarah Myane’s project embraces a wetland area on the site and reveals the flow of water through a set of buildings designed for disassembly
Taking stock of species of concern and an inventory of the ‘new forest.’
Looking at the living community in the Lake Frances bottomlands.
This nature education center can be used as a pavilion for varying sizes of events. The architecture facilitates indoor and outdoor use.
The program diagrams of the building and its site reveal a direct relationship between activities, their needs, and their relationships. An outdoor shelter unites the programs under and occupiable green roof that lets people see the landscape.
An atrium is a core feature of the educational spaces in the nature center.
The materials of construction follow Living Building Challenge standards by being Just and Red List free.