BASE Consultants performed structural design for a 5,000 s.f. facility that will serve the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, a multi-use bicycle and pedestrian facility that will ultimately traverse the Florida Keys. The Key Largo Trailhead facility will house restrooms and includes an exhibit area and office space. In addition to the facility, the project involves the conversion of an existing dock structure into a covered observation platform overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
The construction consists of a one-story CMU walls with wood roof trusses. A wood porch and observation platform were also designed. All structures were designed to sustain a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 miles per hour. Since the building lies in a floodplane, pile foundations were required. The thickened slab acted as both a pile cap and a slab on grade.
Images courtesy of Borrelli + Partners.