The Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability
The Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism and Sustainability is a campus of resilient green buildings set in a restored coastal forest with both indoor and outdoor learning spaces.
Watershed served as the local architect for the project and design lead on five of the eight buildings, as well as the sustainability consultant, managing LEED certification.
The campus is adjacent to the 6,100 acres of Gulf State Park, and Gulf Shores Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. The design team engaged key project stakeholders, including from the City of Gulf Shores, Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores City Schools, and Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism Bureaus, and the Cousteau Society’s Ambassadors of the environment program in early design workshops. Stakeholder feedback shaped the final program and design.
The project includes two air conditioned and enclosed buildings and 6 shelters, housing offices, classrooms, a camp store, farm kitchen, event space, maker space, bike workshop, garden/nursery space, composting facilities, maintenance buildings, and an adventure ropes course. The site design showcases native plants and utilizes green infrastructure such as bio-swales, rainwater harvesting, and grey water treatment gardens to manage stormwater and enhance the landscape.
The Center design is informed by the science of biophilia, and intended to create memorable experiences in nature for students, tourists, and community members, in order to support the growth of ecotourism and sustainable development in the Gulf region.
Project type: educational/civic new construction
Location: Gulf Shores, AL
Key team: sponsor – U.S. Department of Treasury; State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; ArchitectureWorks; Thompson Engineering; TLC Engineering Solutions
Certifications: Targeting LEED Gold Certification, Fortified Commercial™, and NWF Wildlife Habitat Certification
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