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Coldwater

Coldwater Creek is a clear river in northern Florida- that winds through woods and swamplands before flowing into the Gulf of Mexico near the city of Pensacola. The initiators of the Coldwater project appreciated the beauty of the river and the special quality of the flora and fauna in the region. The couple, who have their roots in the USA and Brazil, felt that this area was the perfect location for developing a tourism project with an ecological focus.

The property they purchased contains several different vegetation zones and is home to a wide variety of animal life. It borders on cultivated cotton fields and forests, while the bank of Coldwater Creek forms its south-eastern boundary. The outstanding feature of the property is the river. The marvelous quality of its water makes it an attractive option for day trippers. The property with its woodland sections and small wetlands containing swamp cypress, cedars, and magnolias, offers a habitat for a vast variety of mammals and reptiles. With a bit of luck, even beavers can be sighted in some of the water courses.

The initiators of the project aim to realize an ecologically focused concept- that offers scope for a variety of activities and allows visitors to experience nature at close range as well as to participate in outdoor activities and workshops. There will be a range of individual and group accommodation at simple and high standards. Baumraum was commissioned by the clients to develop the buildings. and created a design consisting of a combination of stilt houses or treehouses, various forms of ground-level accommodation and habitable bridges. The communal facilities take the form of a reception building, a restaurant, and a workshop. The property is traversed by several ditches at the northern end which serve to draw off large quantities of water during heavy winter rainfalls.

Treehouse
The Treehouse is a prototype for the Coldwater project. The first guest house to be built on the Coldwater site, it also serves to provide data for use in the design of additional buildings. The building consists of two cabins of unequal size that rest on a supporting structure. The larger of the two cabins contains the sleeping area, while the smaller one houses the bathroom and a small kitchen. Between the two enclosed spaces there is a comfortable terrace which is partly covered by a large roof. The two cabins of this stilt house were constructed in a large workshop tent in cooperation with a German team and local artisans. Over the ten-day construction period, the workers from both countries were able to exchange experiences and compare notes while working together. The regional building regulations were an important factor in these exchanges. We had to try to harmonize the local building traditions with our design ideas. After the German team had returned to Europe, the local workers completed the construction of the stilt house.

Bridge – House
We decided to use this topographically interesting situation as a site for guest accommodation, and suggested several designs for building variants that stood on only one side of the ditch. But the clients became very enthusiastic about a different idea – that of creating habitable bridges. Thus the Bridge House serves the dual purpose of offering accommodation and also allowing guests to cross the ditch. Each unit consists of two cabins in an offset arrangement. The larger of the two rooms contains a living room, bathroom, and sleeping area; the smaller kitchen and sleeping room for guests.