The Miami-Dade College Academic Support Center seamlessly unites both learning and administrative functions into a cohesive whole.
The 135,000 SF building is located on the eastern entry corridor of the campus. It will centralize all Student Services departments for the more than120,000 students. The project includes 21 prototypical 930 SF classrooms, a Resource and Testing Center and hovers over a base of admission offices.
In keeping with Miami-Dade College’s priority of putting students first, the central atrium space is given over to the student body. The space enriches the existing student life on campus by containing all lounging, study and campus information programs within the atrium.The project is itself a learning tool helping the college achieve its 10 Learning Outcomes. Among which is to describe how natural systems function and recognize the impact humans make on the environment. The project includes two outdoor learning spaces. One of the spaces surrounds a ‘rain clock’ which is a dry retention structure that adjusts seasonally to spatially register stormwater. An open grid paving system conceals a shallow custom rain water cistern by the main entry, beautifully illustrating roof rain-water harvesting.
