Knox College Green Oaks Biological Field Station – Renovation

Farnsworth Group assisted Knox College with the schematic design of a new higher education facility at their Green Oaks Biological Field Station, a 700-acre biological research area in the rural prairies of Central Illinois. This field station is home to the bi-annual Green Oaks academic program, which gives Knox College students a multi-faceted experience in the sciences, the arts, and sustainability.

Work on this new development began with a thorough analysis of the existing academic and housing offerings at Green Oaks, where students resided in a retrofitted historic barn known as Schurr Hall. This was followed by several stakeholder sessions that allowed us to create a detailed program of required rooms, spaces, and amenities, which was later used to develop a series of options for the college’s consideration.

The proposed comprehensive multi-use campus facility aimed to increase student dorm capacity, improve shared living and dining spaces, and provide a variety of academic spaces, including primary meeting space, secondary meeting space with lab function, computer lab, and library. The facility was created to be multipurpose so that the university could extend the function of the structure to be open for conferences and private getaways. The final design incorporated a heavy timber structure, concrete flooring, large windows, deep overhangs, and a patio. It included natural elements throughout, offering users a fully immersible indoor/outdoor experience during their stay.