Aqua Terra School

This is a sustainable primary school design located in Fort Lauderdale. The project integrates ecological strategies such as passive cooling, rainwater harvesting, and natural ventilation to address local environmental challenges and create a comfortable, energy-efficient, and climate-responsive learning environment for children. The design site experiences a hot and humid subtropical climate.  The rainy season spans from June to October, bringing frequent and intense precipitation, which significantly influences building performance and outdoor comfort.  The marshlands on the site aim to restore native vegetation and attract local wildlife, including fish, birds and mammals. This approach not only increases biodiversity and enhances ecological resilience, but also helps cool the area. The combination of vegetation and retention ponds promotes evaporative cooling and improves natural ventilation. The rainwater collection design supports sustainability by capturing and reusing water for irrigation and landscape maintenance. Integrated with the building’s cantilevered structure—a key flood adaptation strategy—it works in tandem with the shaped terrain of varying ground heights to guide and retain stormwater.