Approach
As a land-grant university with a mission to conduct agricultural research and share it with the community, The Ohio State University provides programming that draws the public to Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory near the Ohio State campus in Columbus. The university has partnered with Erdy McHenry Architecture (EM) and MA Design to continue its fulfillment of this mission with the construction of new headquarters for the Franklin County Extension at the Waterman site.
EM designed the Kunz-Brundige Franklin Country Extension project to appear as a raised, extension of the farmland on the site, with a green roof set above clear glass walls. As local partner on the project, MA advised EM regarding OSU processes and standards during the project’s design phase, facilitated permitting and local jurisdictional approvals, and provided construction administration and close-out services. Construction phase services include observing the installation of a geometrically complex green roof and rain garden, along with the building’s unique walls of Corten steel, which will weather to provide integral protection from the elements without any need for applied coatings.
The project’s components include a demonstration kitchen, a gardener’s lab, educational space, and offices for the Franklin County Extension. The Kunz-Brundige building, which is planned to achieve LEED Gold or higher certification.
