Architects selected for GCRL's Marine Education Center

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The selection of Texas and Mississippi architects to design the new Marine Education Center was announced Thursday in news release from Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.

Lake Flato Architects of San Antonio, Texas, and their local partner, Unabridged Architecture of Bay St. Louis, are to team with University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory staff to create the building, the news release stated.

The new center replaces the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium, which was located at Cadet Point in Biloxi and lost during Hurricane Katrina.

"We want this facility to be a model for building in this region," said Jeff Lotz, interim director of GCRL. "We want to be energy efficient, storm resistant, and appropriate to the landscape."

The new center is to be located on 224 acres at Cedar Point, which has access to marshes, Davis Bayou and the Mississippi Sound.

The Marine Education Center proposal is for a 32,000 square foot complex with a mix of public exhibits, classrooms, laboratories, meeting spaces and administrative offices. A system of trails, boardwalks and outdoor classrooms, already under construction, will take the learning experiences beyond the building to make it a true nature center.

The Thad Cochran Aquaculture Center is located at Cedar Point.

Two key research groups, microbiology and genetics, have moved from GCRL's Halstead Road location to the new Aquaculture Research Building at the site.

Also located at the site is the Aquaculture Visitor Center.

Robert Harris, principal designer for Lake Flato, states, "For over 25 years, Lake Flato has employed practical and thoughtful sustainable strategies that conserve resources, engage nature and promote healthful living. We are excited to work with GCRL to build an environmentally sustainable facility for science education in South Mississippi."

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Architects selected for GCRL's Marine Education Center