Sustainable Design Blog

Carlson Studio Architecture’s design of the newly completed Lifestyle and Wellness Center, located at the Sun N Fun Resort in Sarasota was featured by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  The annual exhibition is presented at AIA National’s headquarters, the American Center for Architecture, in Washington, DC. The exhibition is on display from February through April 2013, and was viewed by over 700 attendees in conjunction with the annual AIA Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference.  The American Institute of Architects, Center for Emerging Professionals sponsors this annual exhibition of architectural work, art, and designs of emerging architectural professionals across North America.  

The Lifestyle and Wellness Center, an 18,000 SF facility, was designed by Jedd Heap, AIA LEED AP, of Carlson Studio Architecture for local resort Sun N Fun. The building is comprised of a therapy spa, a 25 meter indoor pool, exercise rooms that overlook the pool from the second floor, along with an upstairs aerobics room, steam & sauna rooms, locker rooms and access to adjacent exterior spas and pools.  The project received prestigious LEED Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2012.

Architect Jedd Heap, AIA has been appointed to the national AIA’s Young Architect’s Forum (YAF) as Regional Director for the Florida Caribbean region. The Young...

Sun N Fun's Lifestyle Wellness Building made a splash this month when it was featured in the Janruary 2013 issue of SRQ Magazine. The project earned LEED-NC Gold last year and has been featured in both local and national publications.

Click here to read the article

Featured on the cover of nationaly circulated Modern Steel Construction Magazine is Carlson Studio's very own Sun N Fun Lifestyle Wellness Center. An article co-writen by CSA's Jedd W. Heap, AIA, LEED AP and Hees & Assocaites owner Karl Hees, P.E., S.I., F.ASCE describes the steel and wood structural system from concept to completion. Click the link below to read more.

MSC website 

Read Here

LEEDership Award Winners Celebrate!
St. Petersburg, FL --- The U.S. Green Building Council - Florida Gulf Coast Chapter hosted its third annual LEEDership Awards on October  23rd, 2012, recognizing and honoring those outstanding projects, inspirational businesses, dedicated individuals, and instrumental Chapter members who are ‘LEEDing the Way’ to a more sustainable built environment on the Gulf Coast of Florida and beyond.

Alexis Muellner, Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, emceed the evening at the beautiful Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. The event included a Networking/Cocktail Hour in the Gardens, delicious appetizers and the Awards Ceremony to conclude the evening.

Mayor Bill Foster graciously accepted the award for Municipality of the Year on behalf of the City of St. Petersburg, and many other green building leaders were in attendance to celebrate the projects that were nominated and won awards at the event.

Over 100 attendees celebrated the successes of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council over the past year.

2012 LEEDership Awards Winners

Outstanding LEED  for Commercial Interiors
Carlson Studio Architecture
« Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery Center

Outstanding LEED Core and Shell
Carlson Studio Eco Consulting
«City of Sarasota- Palm Avenue Parking Garage

Outstanding LEED Existing Buildings
« Waldemere Medical Plaza

Outstanding LEED for Homes – Multi-Family
« Eco Oaks Apartments

Outstanding Chapter Member of the Year
« Taylor Ralph – with REAL Building Consultants

Outstanding LEED for Existing Buildings - School
«Pasco County – Marlowe Elementary

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- Government
« Ft. Pierce U.S. Courthouse(GSA)

Outstanding LEED for New Construction – Higher Education
« UF – Hough Hall Graduate School of Business

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- Retail
« Dunkin’ Donuts – St. Petersburg

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- General
« Anna Maria Island Historic Green Village

Outstanding Green Business
« Gilbane Building Company

Outstanding Green Government
« City of St. Petersburg

Presidents Award – Outstanding Service to the Green Building Community
« Progress Energy 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to tour Sarasota’s newest LEED Gold building, Sun N Fun’s Lifestyle Wellness Center. This year the Gulfcoast AIA will be hosting free tours of the project at their annual meeting. Also in attendance will be members of the Green Drinks networking group, USGBC, CSI, and GBCX members. All are welcome to attend and enjoy cocktails & hor d’oeuvres on the pool deck.

Designed by local architecture firm Carlson Studio Architecture, the Lifestyle Center features an indoor pool, aerobics room, and extensive exercise facilities. Sustainably designed, the project captures rainwater, uses the pool for cooling, and uses local materials. Architecturally it has been heralded as a new landmark with it’s soaring curved wood beams and innovative steel ‘V’ shaped column.

All are welcome to attended the tour and reception, please rsvp @ info@aiagulfcoast.org

Event info:

October 25^th, 2012

6pm – 8pm

Sun N Fun

7125 Fruitville Rd

Sarasota, Florida, USA 34240

by Harold Bubil
HeraldTribune, Real Estate Editor

Sarasota's newest architectural landmark brings the city's modernist tradition to an unlikely place: a resort and campground.

Recently celebrating 50 years in business, Sun-n-Fun on Fruitville Road, just east of Interstate 75, is known for its collection of mobile homes, recreational vehicles and modest buildings that serve the needs of its clients. Now it has a monumental piece of design — the newly opened, $5.5 million Indoor Pool and Wellness Center, an 18,000-square-foot structure that houses a 25-meter therapy pool, exercise rooms and locker rooms on the west side of the 147-acre campus.

"We wanted the 'wow!' factor," said Tim Deputy, Sun-n-Fun's general manager.

They — Sun-n-Fun management and the facility's owner, Royalty Resorts of England — got it with a gleaming white structure that has walls of glass and a curving roof arching from south to north, and faces the large, 50-year-old outdoor pool.

"It just brings a smile to your face because you know you are in a resort," said Tim Deputy, Sun-n-Fun's general manager. "You are not in a campground, you are in a resort, and I think it makes a quality statement.

"We like to think of ourselves as a leader" in the resort and campground industry, Deputy said. "We knew that by making that statement, it would take us that far ahead ... to what our new guests will appreciate."

It seems to be working...read more

Sarasota’s Carlson Studio Architecture, a regional leader in sustainable design, won 3 awards at the USGBC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter LEEDership Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in St. Petersburg. CSA received awards in the following categories:

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) for the design and construction of the firm’s own offices, located in downtown Sarasota.   The offices of Carlson Studio Architecture received LEED- CI Silver Certification from the USGBC in 2007, making it only the third LEED-CI Certified project in Florida at the time of certification.  Sarasota’s RC Moore Construction was the General Contractor.

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED for Schools (K-12) for the Learning Gate Community School, located in Lutz, FL.  This project received LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC, and was also recognized as the first LEED Platinum Public Charter School in the Country.  Local consultant Two Trails was the LEED administrator for the project, and Charles Girard was the General Contractor.

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED-NC (New Construction) for the design of the Cancer Support Community’s new facility located in Lakewood Ranch, FL.  This project received LEED Gold Certification from the USGBC.  Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. was the General Contractor.

The LEEDership Awards program, hosted by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the USGBC, was started in 2010 as a way to support the chapter’s mission of encouraging environmental knowledge and values as they relate to the built environment. For more information, visit www.usgbc-fgc.org.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. (http://www.usgbc.org)

This week reporter Scott Denis from ABC 7 featured the LEED Certified Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery Office on his "Green Living" segment.

"A Suncoast doctor wanted his office to be not just a place that promotes health, but a healthy environment as well.  Plastic Surgeon Dr. Joshua Kreithen has accomplished both with one of the first LEED-certified doctor's offices in the state.

You feel relaxed from the moment you walk in. The soothing sounds, attractive building materials and the extensive use of natural lighting..." Click here for the full article