Main Administration of the Forest Education Center Project by Aura Design Studio

Project: Main Administration of the Forest Education Center
Architects: Aura Design Studio
Location: Karabakh, Azerbaijan
Area: 112,881 sq ft
Year: 2022
Photographs by: Provided by Aura Design Studio

Main Administration of the Forest Education Center Project by Aura Design Studio

The main administration of the forest education center in Karabakh, Azerbaijan was designed as an educational complex with a fragmented, clear and simple silhouette by Aura Design Studio.

The Forest Education Center of the Main Administration, located in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, was designed as an educational complex oriented towards socialization due to its design that offers a fragmented, clear and simple silhouetted form. As the complex with a total construction area of 10,487 square meters combines functions such as forest education zones, laboratories, hotel, social facility and pentathlon field; it was also designed to meet the educational, research and social needs of the city in the field of forestry.

Steel and wooden construction systems are applied on the site, as the choice of materials and structural solutions was determined by the necessity to transport all construction elements from Turkey. All building materials are designed as modular structural components, and all structures are regulated within a five-meter grid in all blocks. In the forestry university, to highlight wooden elements, timber columns, compact wooden facade panels, wooden formwork systems, wooden interior flooring, sound-absorbing wooden flooring and wooden landscape elements were used in the material selection.

The design strategy emphasizes access to the educational center from different levels, turning the complex topography of the site into an advantage. The layout and building ratios are divided into four main sections - laboratory, conference hall, social facility and hotel - arranged to create a multi-layered and permeable mass composition.

The entrance building connecting the lower and upper levels contains administrative spaces, meeting rooms, offices, classrooms, conference hall, lobby area and museum exhibition space. The conference hall block and the administrative-educational block located to the right and left of the main courtyard were transformed into a semi-open entrance hall with a roof covering both blocks. The primary connection to the lower level is made via an amphitheater staircase, linking it with the social facility on the lower level and functions of both blocks. The block housing the conference hall, lobby and museum receives access to the conference hall from both levels via the main upper entrance and underground lobby area. Meanwhile, the lobby zone that opens to the internal courtyard is positioned parallel to the social facility block, creating an honest contrast in the spacious courtyard. In the museum section, an exhibition of military ammunition and remnants from this area after the war is planned. The administrative block to the right of the courtyard includes administrative offices, as well as classrooms with access to the lower level courtyard and social functions of these classes.

On the lower level, the first-floor functional scheme consists of open office volumes and a restaurant that allow communication and use of the social facility with the central pond. The kitchen, storage areas, technical zones and shelter operate together with the service yard.

Connections between buildings, alternative social spaces offering open, semi-open and closed environments were designed according to user needs. The laboratory structure has programs that must function independently from each other and perform various functions on the lower and upper levels. Seed laboratories are located on the first floor, while predator and beneficial insect labs are in the basement. Thus, they provide more isolated and secluded working places.

Located to the left of the entrance building, the hotel, divided into two branches from the main body, welcomes guests on the first floor of the main courtyard area. From the lobby, stairs and elevators lead visitors upstairs to rooms on the left and right wings through the reception and lobby zones. The branches extending east and west include nine 1+0 rooms and eight 1+1 rooms on each floor. Each room offers semi-open, functional and flexible spaces with terraces and wooden access systems.

The educational center is designed to be accessible, integrative and inclusive. Entrances for people with disabilities, parking spaces, restrooms and elevators were part of the project. The educational university that has a very dense program includes 7,000 square meters of pentathlon field for wildfire combat training. Observational points where the eastern pentathlon field offers a panoramic view are alternative interaction spaces for users and academic groups. The Karabakh Forest Education Center integrates with the architectural language both through spatial distribution allowing different learning methods and through relationships with the surrounding topography and nature.

-Project description and images provided by pRchitect