CAW WATERSHED MANAGEMENT OFFICE

The CAW Westrock Landing Watershed Management Office is a 9,650 SF facility near the water's edge of Lake Maumelle in Roland, Arkansas, designed to serve Central Arkansas Water's Watershed Management Team. The building houses daily administrative operations, classroom space for team and teacher education, conference areas for larger team meetings, and a workshop for equipment storage and maintenance projects. The project also includes an expanded marina parking lot that incorporates native plantings, shade trees, and pervious paving to slow and filter stormwater before it reaches the lake.

Design decisions prioritized minimal site disturbance and water management strategies appropriate for the hillside location. The building was sited parallel with existing topography to reduce grading and preserve vegetation, with a bioswale routing downhill water around the structure. A simple single-slope roof sheets water directly into the bioswale, eliminating concentrated flow from gutters and downspouts. The building's east-west orientation reduces solar heat gain, with the majority of classroom glazing facing north for natural light without thermal penalty. A mesh screen wall on the west elevation provides passive shading while creating a walkable zone that invites conversation about solar control strategies. Gabion baskets clad portions of the facade, reinforcing the building's role as the edge of the bioswale and expressing the water management focus of the facility.

Beyond serving as a functional workspace for the watershed management team, the facility demonstrates how buildings can be adapted to fit sensitively within the watershed that supplies the Little Rock region's drinking water. Visitors cross a bridge over the bioswale at entry, immediately engaging with the site's water management approach. A large rear patio overlooks the sustainable strategies in sequence—from uphill stormwater and roof runoff through the bioswale system to the lake—providing a space for discussing watershed protection with staff and educators. The office and education wing screens the workshop portion from public view, allowing the workshop to be built as cost-effective utilitarian construction while presenting a more refined face to visitors and the waterfront.