COASTAL RESEARCH & EXTENSION CENTER

Mississippi State University
Biloxi, Mississippi

This project consists of a new research facility for Mississippi State University’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.  The building contains a two-story office block with an administration wing, a single-story conference building, and a single-story laboratory facility all oriented around a shared outdoor courtyard.  The conference center is designed with shared support spaces and modular rooms which can be divided or combined as conditions required to maximize the flexibility of the space according to its function.  Similarly, each of the three types of laboratories operate independently, but share common support areas and each have access to a central utility and storage core which maximizes square footage and enables the facility to function with less square footage than similar type facilities.  The building’s design incorporates a curvilinear roof form and materials such as tilt-up precast concrete panels and impact resistant glazing to deflect and withstand hurricane force winds.