Impressions from ALADlabs' visit to the School of Architecture and Community design at University of South Florida
The School of Architecture and Community Design is located on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida. For European visitors, a campus of around 650 hectares is quite an experience. Everything here is scaled to the car too. In fact, the school even has its own shared car, used by both students and faculty. If alternative solutions for parking could be found, the vast areas between buildings might be rediscovered and become the defining element of the campus experience.
The ever-present and pragmatic hydraulic infrastructure for managing excess rain, together with vegetation, artificial lighting, and small lightweight structures, could provide a fascinating basis for reimagining this kind of landscape. Obviously any such exploration would also need to account not just for the occasional presence of torrential rain but also the potential threat of hurricanes. With other words for sun, rain, and wind, in all their varying scales and intensities ...
The school recently became part of the College of Design, Art, and Performance, loosing its college status. Together with the many other disciplines present on campus, this creates a rich environment for exchanges.
The building itself responds directly to local climatic conditions. Small openings on the façade means the interior is shielded from the relentless summer sun. Meanwhile, the major stairs and corridors – spaces for entering, moving, meeting, and conversing - are placed inside the building, but are open the outside. Like large balconies, they are shaded from the sun yet open to fresh air, encouraging both movement and encounter.
