Missouri State University Ozark Education Center

BNIM Architects

Recognitions: 2020 Central States Region Awards (Architecture)

Project Description

Located within the Ozark Mountain region of southern Missouri, the Bull Shoals Field Station provides applied research and education opportunities for Missouri State University’s (MSU) College of Ecology, the Natural & Applied Sciences Department, and other research and educational organizations. A new Education Center at the Field Station had been a vision for the College for many years. After much exploration, MSU secured a second plot of land deep within the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area. This new location allows for students to have an expanded and more diverse study of the southern Missouri natural environment and allows the Department to reach more students, more natural science organizations, and many high schoolers. The new MSU Ozarks Education Center provides an immersive environment for extended study of the natural ecology of the Ozarks. At ~4,000 gsf, the new Education Center comprises sleeping and bathing quarters, a communal dining and multi-purpose room, classroom space, and room for programs. The main building houses a bathhouse and the multi-purpose community space that can accommodate small and large groups of up to 60 people. The cabins, which accommodate 23 overnight guests at a time, are nested in the topography and forest to immerse guests in the surrounding environment and provide a full sensory experience. The new Education Center is designed to be of its place, featuring strategies that will reduce systems loads by 75% over baseline through passive cooling strategies, carefully selected mechanical systems, high-performance glazing and envelope design, maximized daylight, and lighting sensors. Water from the roof is captured for reuse on site, and a series of bioswales collect and redirect stormwater on the site. Materials were selected based on their energy performance, no VOC emissions, and minimal embodied environmental impacts.