Florida State University Band Practice Field

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The synthetic turf Band practice field was designed to meet a variety of needs for the Florida State University. First and foremost it needed to stand up to the foot traffic of the band members every afternoon as they practiced their routines on the exact dimensions and field markings of the game day football field. When or after it had rained, the football team would utilize the field as their practice fields would be too wet to practice on. The field had to be extensively researched to find the best available product on the market that would hold up to this traffic each and everyday and at the same time create a safe, playable surface. The markings on the field were designed to match the FSU Football teams’ game day markings so that the band would be able to memorize their routines. Lacrosse markings were also designed into the field for use by the FSU lacrosse team.

The site was in a low lying area which was prone to flooding and extra care was taken to provide the correct amount of drainage from the fields playing surface so that it could be utilized during or immediately after a rain storm.

Franklin County Health Facility

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Public/Private Client: Public
Completion Date: 2001
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Construction Cost: $250,000.00

Role in Project: Principal
Architect: MLD Architects, Inc.
Randy G. Lewis AIA Principal
Jodie Dodson AIA Project Architect

This new county health facility has several exam rooms, two with 100% exhaust for infectious disease control. A conference room that serves as employee lounge and a community meeting center, and patient education room with acoustical privacy.

The Nurses Station is open to patient communication with physical separation, having a view of each exam room. The Receptionist Office combined with Business Office has visual access to the Lobby and sound control. Custom casework in many areas, including: WIC, Reception/Business Office, Interview Stations, Exam Rooms, Conference Room.

Talquin Electric Bradfordville Office

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Public/Private Client: Private
Completion Date: October 1999
Location: Bradfordville, Florida
Construction Cost: $1,250,000.00

Role in Project: Principal

Project was designed as an emergency operations facility. It includes a warehouse, operations facility, administration office, and customer service lobby and teller. Renovation of the existing building was done in phases with the Owner remaining fully operational. The site design was very complicated due to area NEW OPERATIONS BUILDING & WAREHOUSE: confinements and the attenuation of stormwater. Hard bid project that came in under budget.

Trinity Classroom Addition

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Public/Private Client: Private
Completion Date: 2002
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Construction Cost: $2,600,000.00

Role in Project: Principal

Trinity Catholic School consisted of an 18,000 square foot elementary building constructed of load bearing single with structural bricks with a steel joist and structural deck metal roof covered with standing seam metal panels.

The building houses the campus administration offices and 12 elementary classrooms. The building is structured cabled for networking and contains an extensive fire alarm and intercom system.

The building is contextually designed to fit into the surrounding residential neighborhood and related to the adjacent church.

Subsequent phases of the project included the installation of aluminum walkway canopies, the renovation of the 12,000 square foot middle school, and converting four classrooms into an art and music room. The project was hard bid and came in under budget.

Florida State University Walkway Canopy

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This project incorporated a multitude of design problems including site drainage, existing vegetation, sight lines, security, light levels and useability. The main focus of the project was to create a space that would keep the FSU Card Store patrons out of the elements. During the summer and winter orientation sessions, hundreds of students and parents would line up outside the Card Store and a temporary canvas canopy would be set up to house these crowds. The new canopy needed to protect from the rain and the heat of the sun while still providing some day lighting and natural ventilation. Due to the split-level sidewalk, visual access needed to be maintained to the Card Store as well as the adjacent Suntrust bank. The bank also housed ATM machines and security was created by keeping the canopy as open and visually accessible as possible. Seating was incorporated into the design to create a social gathering corridor where students, teachers and visitors can interact.

The new canopy needed to protect patrons from the rain and the heat of the sun, while still providing some daylight and natural ventilation. Due to the split-level sidewalk, visual access needed to be maintained to the Card Store, as well as the adjacent SunTrust bank. The bank also housed ATM machines, and security was created by keeping the canopy as open and visually accessible as possible.

Seating was incorporated into the design to create a social gathering corridor where students, teachers and visitors can interact.

Levy Park Pool

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Client: City of Tallahassee
Completion: 1991
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Construction Cost: $612,000.00

The existing 1950's swimming pool and bathhouse complex was unable to meet accessibility requirements and building code criteria and was therefore demolished by the City of Tallahassee to accommodate a new facility. The client requested a simple block building with a tan and brown color scheme, which had been the city criterion. The architect felt this did not provide the best approach to a stimulating summer respite and one of the major design objectives became the creation of a building, which expressed the excitement of childhood.

After convincing the city that a new approach might succeed, the design was realized with children's preferences in mind. This was accomplished by using eye-catching colors, rough-textured walls and open breezeways. The designer also endeavored to accommodate adult needs by providing covered spaces for parents along the building edge.

To accomplish the goal of making the building a focal point of summertime water-oriented community activities, the new building and pool were made larger than the original and a classroom building with considerable storage space was added. This allowed the Parks and Recreation Department to expand its instructional services and provide storage for various types of recreational equipment.

Since the pool opened, attendance has increased and hours of operation have been extended to accommodate the increased demand. Most important, however, is the fact that the building has helped change a long-standing attitude toward the value of thoughtful design of public recreation buildings.

Premier Health & Fitness Center

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Interiors Library

Premier Health & Fitness Center
Tallahassee, Florida
Completed 2000
Budget: $8,000,000

Recipient of a 2002 Design Merit Award from the Tallahassee Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Tallahassee Memorial Health Care desired a building that would redefine the local community’s expectations of a health club. The health club would become a wellness center, developing the occupant’s bodies, minds, and sense of well-being. Our design goal was to produce a building that, when utilized by the occupant, communicates a since of openness and vitality. Locally commissioned artwork, depicting the active human form, transforms the building itself into a work of art.

Photographs provided by Lefstead Photography (850) 766-1555

Aerial Photography provided by Ralph Davis of Streamline Roofing / Prop Busters Aerial Photography, 545-8852

Blessed Sacrament Church

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Manausa Lewis & Dodson has designed or renovated the entire campus at Blessed Sacrament Church.  The original church design completed in 1985 is an example of our firms ability to design a building that is contextual to its environment.  The recently completed new elementary school building and middle school renovation helped unify the architectural style of the entire campus.  The parish hall includes a full service kitchen with an attached meeting/dining hall.  Both buildings utilize masonry construction and are similar in size and scope to the proposed project.

The program requirements included the design of a new sanctuary, a day chapel and access to existing church, (future parish hall). The site was a very restricted triangular area bounded by two streets and the existing sanctuary. We designed a faceted structure, projecting upward from the corner of the property. Exterior berms, planters, and landscaping are used to reduce the scale of the building and materials were selected which maintain the area’s residential quality. The interior seating radiates slightly upward away from the alter and all seats are within 50 feet from the alter. Stain glass, furnishes and fixtures were included as a integral part of the total design.

Mainline Information Systems Corporate Headquarters

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Mainline Information Systems Corporate Headquarters
Tallahassee, Florida
Completed 2000
Budget: $4,500,000

Defining the employee-centric building “A Life Enhancing Environment” The very survival of companies in this century depends on their ability to recruit and retain talented and highly skilled professionals. This building was designed to provide an employee-centric workplace as a cost-effective advantage in the competition for human resources. It provides an amenities-rich and aesthetically appealing workplace that actively supports and enhances the satisfaction, productivity and success of the company and its workforce. The Mainline Information Systems building was featured at the International Interior Designers Associations National Convention dinner.

Photographs provided by Lefstead Photography (850) 766-1555

Summit East Hillside Building

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Interiors Library

Hillside Office Building
Tallahassee, Florida
Completed 2005
Budget: $560,000

A 60,000 square foot building, with one and a half floors being occupied by one tenant with the remaining floors occupied by separate tenants. Building access, security and site planning were major design issues on this project and were successfully completed. Computer renderings and animations were provided for the building and office park marketing. The project was delivered using a fast track design build team. The Summit East Office Park was created to provide a new kind of workplace. A high technology, high amenity, commercial campus, supporting forward thinking companies and their employees in the 21st century. Mainline's global headquarters is the park's prototype building.

Mainline is a Fortune 500 high technology company that needed a facility to meet today's technology needs and tomorrow's technology growth. The company's president envisioned a technology campus surrounded by nature. He wanted the building to take advantage of and incorporate the natural features of the pristine site, while still promoting the image of a "High Tech Global Company." He wanted free public access to portions of the building, while maintaining a high level of security in work areas. Creating a feeling of home for employees and an interaction between staff and administration was paramount.

In our design, the building became the campus with program areas being connected through open "living" areas. We developed two axes to differentiate between the public vs. private spaces and the "man made" office vs. the "organic" living areas. Each axes focuses the occupant's views and leads them toward select natural features of the site. The building was constructed of split faced concrete block and glass to elicit a feeling of the building growing from the earth, as the site slopes to the adjacent pond. The building is comprised of open office team environments with two story glass walls, providing breathtaking views. The administration suite is strategically located at the opposite end of the building from the entry, promoting interaction.

Concept Sketch Hand Rendered The Hillside Office Building is the second of our three commissions in the Summit East Technology Park. The building was designed to convey the technology theme of the park, while retaining a strong connection to nature and the surrounding environment. The building is built into the side of the site’s hill with a partial basement floor. The building contains multiple meeting rooms, offices, and a food service cafeteria.

Photographs provided by Lefstead Photography (850) 766-1555

Talquin Electric Wakulla Office Building

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Talquin Electric Cooperative Member Services Facility
Crawfordville, Florida
Completed 2008
Budget: $1,300,000

Extensive programming was utilized to provide our client with the ideal building for their new Member Services Facility for Wakulla County. The new building was designed to fit in with the surrounding residential neighborhood, while presenting a coastal feel. Metal roofing and hardiboard siding were incorporated to cut down on maintenance issues. The building was designed to withstand hurricane force winds, as this facility would house emergency vehicles for countywide coordination efforts. High end radio and telecommunications equipment were incorporated into the facility, as was a bank teller and drive through. Security was very important to the client because this facility collects utility payments from throughout the county and surrounding areas.

The project includes all work required to construct the Wakulla Area Office Building, microwave building and radio tower for Talquin Electric Cooperative, Inc. Including; exterior wood frame construction and pre-engineered wood trusses, installation of gypsum drywall partition systems, installation of new doors, finish hardware, floor and ceiling finishes, concrete ramps and stairs with handrail and guardrail systems, standing seam metal roof systems, installation of mechanical, electrical, fire alarm and plumbing systems.

Photographs provided by Lefstead Photography (850) 766-1555

USPS Crestview Post Office

USPS Crestview Post Office
Crestview Florida
Completed 2000
Budget: $2,200,000

The project consisted of a 32,000 square foot sorting and distribution center, with a customer service and box lobby. Project includes both facilities areas in conjunction with public space. Utilitarian design focuses on the building's functions. Extensive site work includes compensation for retention due to inferior soil percolation.