DEPARTMENT OF LABOR - PINELLAS COUNTY JOB CORPS CENTER 

St. Petersburg, Florida

Context

The project site is located in the Dome Industrial Park of Midtown St. Petersburg and is within a brownfield zone designated for economic redevelopment and environmental remediation.

CAMPUS DESIGN

The campus is organized into a day campus and night/weekend campus. Administration, Health and Wellness, Student Services, Classrooms, Vocational Bays, and Culinary Arts are clustered to the north forming the day use activities surrounding the larger campus plaza. Dormitories and Recreation, including a Media Center, are located to the south forming the night/weekend use activities. The Dormitories enclose a smaller campus plaza and fend out the day campus. The Cafeteria is the connector of activities between both campuses and acts as a radial hub.

Architectural Character

This site location and position within the City of St. Petersburg, Florida offers a particular architectural context that informed the character of this design. The local building stock largely consists of utilitarian vocational, artisan, and industrial business functions. To the north, the Historic 1926 Seaboard Coastline Freight Train Depot was built in the Masonry Vernacular style of architecture and is one of the last remaining examples of railroad architecture in Pinellas County. To the west, are several industrial buildings demonstrating utility and economy of means in their built form. To the south is the 1925 Manhattan Casino which first opened as an entertainment facility named the Jordan Dance Hall, and was built in the Masonry Vernacular style as well.

This design continues the culture of the local built environment with the tradition of the Masonry Vernacular style in contemporary application. The use of stack-bond emperor brick units (4” x 8” x 16”) on the insulated exterior walls is a primary façade element in combination with secondary insulated stucco masonry. These masonry surfaces are low-maintenance, attractive, and provide high thermal efficiency. Clear-anodized aluminum window, curtain wall, and awning systems reflect heat and are low maintenance. Glazing is low-e and tinted to minimize solar gain and reduce UV influx.

DAYLIGHTING

The majority of light capture glazing is on the north exposure to avoid direct insolation. Sun-shading and diffusion is employed for the lesser glazed south, west, and east exposures. Traditional low-sloped roofs are combined with extruded light well forms that provide balanced indirect daylight from the north while minimizing heat gain from the harsh south and west. The forms are curved to reflect light down into the spaces below and their reflective metal roofs echo local vernacular forms. This design is climate-responsive and uses technologically simple solutions to achieve a sustainable built environment through an economy of means and enduring form.

Sustainable DESIGN

This project was designed to LEED-NC v2.2 Silver, although did not seek certification. A ‘Best Value’ approach to sustainability was utilized, balancing first-costs with long-term sustainable benefits. Sustainable strategies include: passive solar design, low-impact site design, energy efficiency, and water efficiency. Some of the specific measures that were utilized are: Natural daylighting, low-wattage light fixtures, occupancy sensors for lighting, waterless urinals, tankless water heaters, high-performance glazing, energy-efficient building envelope, dark-sky friendly campus lighting, and native/xeric landscaping, recycled content materials, bio-based and renewable materials, low-VOC paints, adhesives, and coatings.

Awards:

2010 AIA Florida/Caribbean - Award of Excellence - Merit Award for New Work

2010 AIA Florida/Caribbean - Masonry Award - Merit Award