Cooper Farm Environmental Center
“Viewfinder”
Muncie, IN
3rd Year Studio Project
Completed in Timothy Gray’s Studio
2021
Cooper Farm
Gifted to Ball State University by an Alumni, Cooper Farm is 14 acres of prairie, and 17 acres of forest. The purpose of the site is to provide environmental education and field research.
Site study
Located north of Ball State’s main campus, the outpost that services the prairie is a straw bale building constructed by Ball State students in 2008 (13 years prior to my involvement with this conceptual project). The program was to design a live-in environmental center for researchers to come study the prairie and teach seminars and classes.
The site is accessed by way of public road on the south, and allows unobstructed views of the entire property. The prairie itself is cut in sections by mowed grass paths roughly twenty feet apart to prevent spreading when controlled burns are started.
The area I selected within the site is just east of the existing straw bale building.
Programming and form study
From here, the building began to take a physical form and shape. I extruded all the spaces vertically and gave them a singly slanted roofline. The roofline was broken at transition points, and turned the opposite direction at the main entry on the south face of the building.
I was tasked with organizing and conceptualizing a written program given to me by my professor. In the interest of maintaining a clear sightline from every space in the building, I organized the spaces on a single spine running east to west. With public spaces in the center, support to the west, and private residences for researchers to the east.
Study model
Around midway through this project I scavenged some resources and constructed the study model you see above. I am writing this three years later so I do not recall the scale, but this model helped me understand my fenestration and materiality. I believe the corrugated paper I used for the roof was just laying around somewhere, but building it into my paper model helped me realize that my building would be perfect for water collection if I designed it that way.
Plans, Sections and Elevations
Floor plan on site
Section through (1.) looking east
North Facade Elevation
South Facade Elevation
Sustainable Design Features
Passive Ventilation
Viewfinder features several low operable intakes on the south end of the building, and high operable window son the north end. Leading to a cross-ventilation option for temperate days in Indiana. The HVAC system would cease to condition air and only circulate as necessary to save power
Sun collection and sun shading
Viewfinder has a large amount of south-facing roof area, and therefore is suitable for the mounting of photovoltaic solar panels. Additionally, the roof is angled to allow more sun into the building during winter months to heat spaces passively.
Summer Solstice, approx. sun angle in Muncie, Indiana.
Winter Solstice, approx. sun angle in Muncie, Indiana.
Water storage and re-use
Viewfinder’s sloped roof captures rainwater and directs it to greywater storage tanks for use in watering the greenhouse plants, and flushing toilets.
