For the past six years, architecture/engineering firm Leo A Daly has been designing sites for remote field stations that are collecting environmental data across the country on behalf of the National Ecological Observatory Network, an independent nonprofit entity funded by the National Science Foundation.
Over its 30-year lifespan, NEON’s 106 aquatic and terrestrial sites will track climate conditions, land-use changes, and data on invasive species. The sites have been selected to represent different regions of vegetation, landforms, climate, and ecosystem performance.
One difficult design problem, according to Elizabeth Hunter, the firm’s Project Manager for NEON, has been complying with a mandate of near-zero ecological disturbance. “NEON’s engineers wanted to build [the field stations] with a hovercraft and not disturb anything,” she says, only half jokingly. Leo A Daly, which has designed structures for national parks, had to find ways to meet NEON’s demands using equipment no bigger nor more intrusive than a small skid steer loader.
Case in point: the instrument hut and tower for a site called Dead Lake, near Demopolis, Ala. The site is located close to the Black Warrior River and is susceptible to flooding. NEON has strict criteria about enclosing its instruments within a continuous foundation, so the design team called for the tower to be built on a foundation supported by piers five feet off the ground that allow floodwaters to pass through. The station went live in 2013.
The sites are mostly self sufficient, but have to be accessible by scientists, who visit the sites periodically to collect data and recalibrate the equipment. At Dead Lake, an elevated metal boardwalk wiggles its way around trees and other obstructions from the site to a staging area a couple of hundred feet away.
Hunter says the buildout of 60 towers and 46 aquatic sites—including 40 relocatable structures—should be completed by 2017. The towers range in height from 26 to 300 feet and take two to six months to build. The sites cost anywhere from under $500,000 to more than $1 million each.
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report
Related Stories
| Jan 27, 2012
Columbia University’s New Core Laboratory aims for LEED Silver
Construction manager Sordoni Construction Co. along with the design team of Payette Architects and Vanderweil Engineers will provide design and construction services to renovate the majority of the existing Core Lab building to create the new Lamont Center for Bio-Geochemistry.
| Jan 26, 2012
Three dead, 16 missing in Rio buildings collapse
The buildings, one 20 floors high, collapsed on Wednesday night in a cloud of dust and smoke just one block away from the city's historic Municipal Theater.
| Jan 26, 2012
Siemens launches smoke detection knowledge center
New knowledge center web site demonstrates efficacy of smoke detection.
| Jan 26, 2012
Hendrick Construction completes Osso Restaurant in Charlotte
Designed by François Fossard, Osso's upscale interior includes tapered, twisted decorative columns and an elegant fireplace in the center of the lounge.
| Jan 26, 2012
HOK partners with USGBC on design of Haiti children's center
Passive design principles give form to a sustainable, restorative environment for the children of Haiti.
| Jan 26, 2012
American Standard names Gould as president and CEO
Gould succeeds Don Devine, who led the successful turnaround of American Standard Brands.
| Jan 26, 2012
Summit Design+Build completes law office in Chicago
Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen's new office suite features private offices, open office area, conference rooms, reception area, exposed wood beams and columns, and exposed brick.
| Jan 24, 2012
New iPad app ready for prime time
Siemens’ versatile application connects users to APOGEE BAS control and monitoring functions via wireless network connectivity. The application directly interacts with BACnet/IP and Siemens APOGEE P2 field panels.
| Jan 24, 2012
Vyhanek joins Thornton Tomasetti’s Kansas City office
Vyhanek will assemble a new MEP team in the Midwest to support Building Performance and Property Loss Consulting practices.
| Jan 24, 2012
U of M installs new lighting at Crisler Player Development Center
Energy efficient lighting installed at PDC reduce costs and improves player performance.
