UILDING

ITE

Blue Lagoon Miami, FL 33126

Miam

i International Airport1.02 m

i

Cora

l Gab

les/

Mira

cle

Mile

2.64

mi

South Beach 9.04 mi

PHYSICAL FEATURES- Man made lake surrounding site

NEIGHBORHOOD- Located in the neighborhood of Flagami,

its close proximity to the airport and Miami’s major highways, establishes it as a business hub. The Blue Lagoon office park is made up entirely of professional offices, most notably the headquarters of Burger King. The surrounding neighborhood is a mixture of residential condominiums and houses, as well as, stores and offices.

- The racial makeup of the neighborhood is 90.08% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.85% Black or African American, 7.68% White (non-Hispanic), and 0.36% Other races (non-Hispanic).

AMENITIES - Next door to the building is the Hilton

Airport Blue Lagoon. The convenience of a hotel so close to the site, makes it possible for those traveling for business to easily come and go.

N

S

EW

BIKE ROUTES

ACCESSMiami, FL offers two majors forms of publictransportation, bus or metro rail. The averagecommute time is 90mins. The percentage of peoplewho ride public transportation for more than 2hrsdaily is 39%. And the average distance peopleusually ride in a single day is 8.08mi. 60% of peoplehave to transfer lines at least once during theircommute, which can mean an average wait time of18mins at each station. The site has a bus stop withinwalking distance of the building, but there is nometro rail stops nearby.

For employees that do not have their own mode oftransportation or are looking for greener ways tocommute the location of the building does not offer anydirect bike paths. And its location while centric for thosein motor vehicles is surrounded by high traffic streets,which would be unsafe for bicyclists.

The site is easily accessiblethrough two major expressways,the Dolphin/SR836 and thePalmetto/SR826. The Palmettoruns 29.94mi, North to South fromSunny Isles to Pinecrest, and hasaccess ramps to I-95 and I-75. TheDolphin Expy runs 15.39mi, East toWest, and also connects to I-95.

Major roadways

Dolphin Expy

NW 7th St

Flagler St

Milam Dairy Rd

NW 57th Ave

Palmetto Expy

With two central motors ways in suchclose proximity the site is easily accessibleto all motor vehicle commuters. Apartfrom the highway access there are severalmain roads that lead to the building site;Flager St, NW 7th St, Milam Dairy Rd, andNW 57th Ave, are all important roads inMiami that transport people to and fromwork on a daily basis.

NO

ISE

Slow Traffic

Fast Traffic

Airport Noise

Levels of highway traffic noisetypically range from 70 to 80 dB(A) ata distance of 15 meters (50 feet) fromthe highway. These levels affect amajority of people, interruptingconcentration, increasing heart rates,or limiting the ability to carry on aconversation. The building is located232 meters (763 feet) from theDolphin Expy, therefore, noise isunlikely to affect the workingenvironment. And while an employeemight hear the occasional plane flyingover head, the flight patterns of MIAare generally from the East and West.Removing them from flying overheadthe building and evoking noisepollution.

From the northwestern curtain wall you have views of the Blue Lagoon, Miami International Airport, the adjacent parking garage and office building.

From the southeast windows there are views of the Hilton Miami Airport, as well as, another parking garage and office building.

The curtain wall provides ample vistas to the outside and takes advantage of the northwestern views of the lagoon and greenery surrounding the building. Although workstations will not be places up against the curtain wall this will be a main circulation zone where employees can stretch their legs and enjoy the view. While the views from the southeast windows are a bit underwhelming there are natural elements within the view. Those sitting or within the green zones will have clear views to the outside.

DIRECT VIEWS TO THE OUTSIDE

IEWS

Structural Steel Beam System

Concrete Tilt Up Wall Panel

Curtain Wall System

Composite Metal PanelFloor System

Structural Steel Beam

Concrete and Steel

connection

The design of the space will includean interior staircase connecting the2nd and 3rd floors. The ability toremove a steel beam or section forthe opening requires theunderstand of the structuralelements of the building. Steelsinherent strength in bothcompression and tension dictate itsrational form. That is why we seesteel formed into linear columnsand beams. Beams transmit theirload horizontally across space tovertical supports. If the span orload of a beam were to double, itsbending stresses would likelydouble, causing the beam tocollapse. But if the depth weredoubled, its strength wouldincrease fourfold. Therefore, depthis a critical dimension of a beamand it’s depth to span ratio is auseful indicator of its structuralrole.

STRUCTURE

A column grid establishes afixed neutral field of spacewhere interior spaces aredistributed and designedwithout restriction.

The steel beam structural systemenables the “free façade” of thebuilding to be a curtain wall or tiltup concrete slabs which are non-structural. Within the building a freeplan is possible since the enclosureand layout of spaces are notdetermined by heavy load-bearingwalls. This provides and opportunityfor interior spaces to be definedwith non-load bearing partitionsand the layout to respond toprogrammatic requirements.

5pm

SUMMER

9am

11am31o

57o

41o

77o

86o280o9am

11am

5pm

2’-6”

12’-10”11’-2”

The sunrises in the northeast at 6:31am. When the sun begins to enter the buildings southeast windowsat 9am it will be at an angle of 31o and an azimuth of 77o. At this point it will have its farthest reach intothe building at 12’-10”. At 11am the suns azimuth is 86o and is entering the building at a 57o anglereaching 2’-6” into the building. The sun sets at 8:16pm and during its decent crosses over the top of thebuilding and sunlight begins to enter is northwest curtain wall. At 5pm the suns azimuth is 280o, has anangle of 41o, and penetrates the building 11’-2”.

WINTER10am

1pm

3pm10am

1pm3pm

30o

40o

27o

13’-5”

8’-1”

11’-2”143o

192o

222o

The sunrises in the southeastat 7:04am and will start toenter the buildings southeastwindows. At 10am the sunsazimuth is 143o and is enteringthe building at a 30o anglereaching 13’-5” into thebuilding. At 1pm while the sunis at a more direct angle of thewindows with an azimuth of192o its angle is 10o higher at40o and therefore does notenter as far into the building,only entering 8’-1”. As the sunbegins its decline at 3pm itsazimuth is 222o and has anangle of 27o entering thebuilding 11’-2”, the sunsets at5:36pm. During the course ofthe day the sun does notpenetrate the northwestcurtain wall.

DAYLIGHTDIAGRAM

SUN PENETRATION

WINTER

SUMMER

Most Daylight

Some Daylight

Very Little Daylight The sun penetration in both summer andwinter is dominant from the southeastwindows of the building. While there areoverhangs above the windows, when thesun reaches an altitude of 70o or less, thesun is able to enter the building. Thiswould make it unsuitable to putworkstations by the windows withoutproviding employees adjustable shadingdevices. This would give them theopportunity to lower the shades whensunlight is coming directly through thewindows, and raising them to give themviews of the outside and natural indirectlight during the rest of the day.

SE

NWThe center of the building receives the least amount ofsunlight. Usually the farther you move into a building thedarker and more private it becomes. But since there is acurtain wall on one side and several large windows on theother, lack of light in this case does not equal privacy. Thereflection of the sun reaches 22’ inside from the curtain walland 26’ from the large windows on the southeast wall. Theareas annotated “Some Daylight” would be suitable forworkstation since they do not receive direct sunlight or glarebut still have the benefit of natural light, which is linked tobetter employee well-being and productivity.

In the summer the sun comesin through the northwestcurtain wall in the lateafternoon and evening. Whilethere are overhangs theyprovide minimal protectionagainst direct sunlight. Thiswould make the spaceunsuitable for workstations.

PUBLIC

SEMI-PRIVATE

PRIVATE

MAIN CIRCULATION 3,662 SF

MAIN ZONE7,869 SF

TOTAL SQUARE FEET: 11,531 SF

The main circulation starts through the main entrance of thebuilding, and through the concourse where the restrooms,storage, janitorial, and mechanical rooms are located. Placingthe doors to the workplace, adjacent to the curtain wall,creates a linear main circulation along the northwest wall withthe ability to traverse the length of the building.

Public zones are defined by their openness and accessibility to the public. Themain entrance to the building and the entrance to the workplace adjacent tothe northwest curtain wall are public zones. These public zones are where“outsiders” are more likely to be. As you move towards the back of the building(the southeast side), the spaces become more private, moving away from thecentral circulations and areas where only “insiders” are.

WORKPLACEENTRANCE

WORKPLACEENTRANCE

SQUARE FOOTAGE & ZONING ANALYSIS

MAIN ENTRANCE

The curtain wall weakensthe visual boundaries ofa space and creates thepotential for visuallyexpanding the spacebeyond its physicalboundaries.

The transparency of thecurtain wall articulatesthe individuality of theenclosing planes. Sincethe curtain wall reachesfrom floor to ceiling itssize accentuates thelose of enclosuremaking the space morediffused.

ENCLOSURE

The building has an adjacencyspatial relationship, which allowseach space to be clearly defined andreact to each other in their ownway. This allows both spaces torespond to specific functional orsymbolic functions. The entrancespace’s main function is forcirculation. Its long, narrow shapenaturally guides people through totheir intended destinations. Theoffice space has a stronger symbolicfunction of arrival and work.

The columns define a linearorganization within the building.Linear organizations can signifymovement, extension, andgrowth. The bays have a width of18’-6” between the columns andlength of 38’ from the walls tothe central columns. These arepredefined spaces within thestructure and can help guide thedesign.

The main entrance of the buildingis a significant threshold. Thesense of compression of theoutdoor over hang releases youas soon as you walk through themain entrance into the atriumwith 46’ high ceilings. The spacesare defined by the thresholds thatdivide them. As soon as youtransition from the main entranceto the hallway you are againcompressed until you passthrough the doorway into theoffice space and you are releasedby the 14’ ceilings, which denotea sense of arrival.

SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPSPATIAL ORGANIZATION

THRESHOLDS

COMPRESSION

RELEASE 18’-6”

38’

The column grid established by the steel beamstructural system helps define spatial zones withinthe workplace and separate public areas fromprivate ones.

Use the Sun Path diagrams to determine thedepths and angles of the suns rays when enteringthe building in the summer and winter. Use this asa guide to determine placement of work stations, ifneed for shading devices, and areas where glarecan be an issue.

SOME DAYLIGHT

VERY LITTLE DAYLIGHT

WINTER SUN PENETRATION

SUMMER SUN PENETRATION

PUBLIC

SEMI-PRIVATE

PRIVATE

MAIN CIRCULATION 3,662 SF

MAIN ZONE7,869 SF

DIRECT VIEWS TO THE OUTSIDE

Natural sunlight and views of nature are proven toincrease a sense of well-being in employees.Which in turn are more productive andinnovative. Use the diagram where areas withdirect views to the outside are highlighted todetermine spaces where employees can have amoment of rest, work from, or meet forcollaboration in the main zone or main circulation.

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DESIGN GUIDELINESAdd retractable shades to windows on the southeast wall to provide shade, and reduce glare and heat gain. Allowing for workstations to be placed by windows and reducing discomfort to employees.

Use structural steel columns along the center of the building as division of private and semi-private areas. Add semi-transparent partitions between columns to show transitions of spaces.

Place workstations within zones with direct views to the exterior from the southeast windows. Create alcoves or huddle spaces along the main circulation on the northwest curtain wall to incorporating natural daylight and nature to foster employee well-being.