New College of Florida Academic & Administration Building (Gold LEED Award Winner)

LOCATION: Sarasota, Florida
OWNER: New College of Florida BUDGET: $8,880,000
ARCHITECT: Moule & Polyzoides
COMPLETION DATE: July 2011

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: In the Summer of 2011, Ajax completed the most significant academic building to be constructed on NCF’s campus in nearly twenty years. The signature Academic Center and Koski Plaza boldly announces the entrance to the state’s honors college for the arts and sciences.  The new building and its spacious interior plaza, form the cornerstone of the College’s Campus Master Plan. Currently awaiting LEED Gold Certification, the project utilizes the latest in sustainability materials and systems.  One particular system of note is the rain water collection system whereby water is collected from the roof gutter system and then stored in a large cistern for use in the building’s toilets.

The adjoining Beverly Koski plaza; a gathering place for students, faculty, and the general public, is constructed atop an underground storm water vault system, which allowed the plaza to be developed in lieu of a more traditional large retention pond.

“Intentionally developed out of the more comprehensive Campus Master Plan, this focal point for campus life will enable our small College to benefit more directly from the sense of intellectual community that is one of the more appealing feature of residential college life,” said Dr. Mike Michalson, president of New College. “It is a welcome sign of our academic focus that this highly visible structure directly on Tamiami Trail will embody what New College values the most — student-faculty and student-student interaction, generating intellectual engagement and dialog.”