Florida Gulf Coast University -
South Village
Overview:
- Location: Fort Myers, Florida
- Beds: 407 each hall (suite style)
- Completion Date: Everglades Hall, Summer 2008; Biscayne Hall, Summer 2009
- Design Firm: HADP Architecture, Inc.
- Construction Manager:
Kraft Construction Company
2008 BEST COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY PROJECT
Description:
For over 10 years, UHS has helped Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) meet their increasing student housing needs to become the fastest growing public university in Florida, now with over 11,200 students. FGCU South Village, UHS' latest master-planned project and FGCU's first five-story facility, opened its first phase of housing, Everglades Hall, in August 2008. Consisting of 407 suite-style beds, a dining hall, associated parking, campus support facilities and a central energy plant, the project is a well-crafted collaborative effort among all parties involved and serves as a model in sustainable design towards a true living-learning community. Due to its success, FGCU selected UHS to develop a sister building, Biscayne Hall, in which LEED Silver accreditation is being sought. Biscayne Hall was completed in July of 2009.
Known as Florida's "environmental university," FGCU's guiding philosophy is to instill in their students a consciousness that balances their economic and social aspirations with the imperative for ecological sustainability. Adhering to this guiding principle, the FGCU Foundation fostered a collaborative approach to the development process that ensured that the project’s environmental goals were clearly communicated to all project stakeholders. These project drivers included:
- Maximizing the development potential of the 124-acre project site
- Preserving the wetlands, pinelands and cypress domes that surround the site
- Incorporating the project site into the jurisdictionally mandated water management plan and maintaining the appropriate buffer to a major wetland drainage slough immediately adjacent to the property
- Developing 3,000 master-planned beds with associated parking, amenity and campus support facilities
UHS worked closely with our design team, HADP Architecture, and construction partner, Kraft Construction Company, to develop a building program that is sustainably responsible and eco-friendly. While the site chosen for the South Village encompassed a total of 124 acres, the final development plan utilized just less than 50 acres to achieve the stated goals. By honoring the University’s commitment to the environment by the responsible use of this land, UHS has further demonstrated our firm’s strong shared commitment to FGCU’s goal of developing projects with a focus on ecological sensitivity.
A responsible development is characterized by more than just responsible design; it is also about the responsible execution of that design. The South Village project incorporated many sustainability measures not only in the building and its systems but also in the development of the site.
The potential impact of a development of this magnitude, built on a tightly constrained site surrounded by wetlands, was significant. UHS performed a detailed evaluation of many different building systems with sensitivity to both cost and environmental impact. The result was the determination of a building structural system that was both highly cost effective and non-damaging to the surrounding environment.
To minimize vehicle generated dust and other anthropogenic emissions, the entire building structure was precast offsite at a local manufacturer and transported to FGCU. This approach significantly reduced the impact of construction traffic through a heavily populated campus, reduced jobsite vehicular dust by limiting the number of vehicles and workers required on site and eliminated a considerable amount of waste debris due the fabrication of these components in a controlled environment. These measures alone significantly reduced the development’s “carbon footprint” and aided in the maintaining of the pristine flora and fauna surrounding the project site.
Additional measures undertaken include:
- The construction of wind rows and a temporary site recharge sprinkler system to reduce and contain airborne dust and debris
- Construction debris recycling system, whereby 85% of the construction debris was recycled and 15% was incinerated to produce a source of "renewable power"
- Selection and installation of interior finish material that contains recyclable or recycled content (e.g. carpet, floor tile)
- A new central energy plant which will provide a highly efficient means of interior environmental control
- Thermal break, non-operable, Low E tinted windows
- High-efficiency florescent lighting
- Temperature limiters on all HVAC fan coil unit thermostats
- DDC building control system
- Low-flow shower heads and faucets
- Trash compaction and recycling program
As importantly, UHS also placed a very high priority on limiting the "off-gassing" of volatile organic compounds (VOC) of all interior finishes, thereby immediately creating a living environment more conducive to learning.
Although it was not originally intended to be a LEED certified building, the project is currently being reviewed for compliance to certification standards.