The Learning Campus at Gulf State Park

Within the northwest corner of Gulf State Park sits the existing park Headquarters building. The masterplan recommended the site adjacent to the HQ building be repuroposed for the Learning Campus facilities. The facilities include sleeping and community buildings, an auditorium and smaller meeting buildings, and a new restaurant. The site design removes a portion of the existing looped entry drive and relocates the existing parking behind the HQ building. Visitors coming to the restaurant will utilize a revitalized existing maintenace road to the east to keep the majority of the campus open for pedestrians. An existing bike pathway that transverses the site east-west will be accessible by a proposed connection from the local school to the north. All other site amenities will be designed with a light touch, maximizing the protection of the existing legacy trees. Small programmable spaces are located adjacent to the larger facilities, enhancing and extending the function out into the landscape. These include an outdoor terrace at the restaurant set amongst two existing trees, an amphitheater adjacent to the auditorium building, nature play sites located throughout clearings in the woods, a hammock grove nestled within the sleeping buildings, and minor additions to the HQ to update the building’s welcoming appearance.