USDA Agricultural Research Service
Melaleuca Research and Quarantine Facility
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The mission of this project was to design a 15,000 square-foot Research and Quarantine Facility that will study the use of insects for the biological control of the Melaleuca (Quinquenervia) exotic weed tree, a native Australian plant. This building will serve as a Quarantine Facility to contain the insects brought from Australia. This facility was designed and constructed to the USDA/APHIS/PPQ Maximum Containment Facility Guidelines for Macro-organisms (non-pathogen research).

The project site is located within the University of Florida’s Ft. Lauderdale Research and Educational Center. The center is a 100 acre campus with laboratory buildings, greenhouses and field experiment plant growth sites that support its primary purpose for research and instruction related to environmental horticulture, water use and weed/pest control.

The design was driven by the optimum southern solar orientation of the greenhouses, the relationship of the non-quarantine greenhouse and labs and the quarantine fumigation/autoclave to the receiving/lab storage, and the work flow patterns of various activities. The building massing was based on the functional volumes required for each space. The geometry of the greenhouse established the design form of the other masses. The greenhouses require an abundant amount of cooling, therefore a mechanical attic was provided above the Headhouse and Maximum Quarantine Area to house all of the building’s air handling needs. The mechanical attic provided a multilevel mass that complemented the greenhouse massing. The non-quarantine laboratories and the administrative spaces have a standard ceiling height requirement of 9'-0" that warrants a low flat roof mass. The unique massing images assist to demonstrate the importance and specialization of the research within the building.