Campsite at Shield Ranch | Andersson / Wise

Written By Positive Energy

Project Location

Austin, TX

Positive Energy Scope

MEP Engineering · On-Site Power

Project Team

Unique Features

  • A 100% off-grid nature-immersion camp powered by the sun and supplied by captured rainwater
  • Eleven screened sleeping shelters and an open-air pavilion carefully sited within a protected 6,800-acre Hill Country landscape
  • Moveable cedar wall panels that open the shelters to prevailing breezes and close for storms or cool weather
  • Extensive off-site fabrication that reduced disturbance within the sensitive site
  • Solar-powered ceiling fans, integrated water systems, and low-energy comfort strategies

Awards

Press

Certifications

The Big Idea

At Campsite at Shield Ranch, comfort begins with the landscape itself. Andersson / Wise’s open-air architecture uses shade, breeze, carefully sited structures, and moveable cedar panels to create spaces that feel inseparable from the Hill Country. Positive Energy coordinated efficient mechanical and plumbing systems with the camp’s solar power, rainwater, and off-grid infrastructure so that the technology supports the experience without competing with it. The result is a durable, resilient place where children can sleep close to the sounds of the land and gather beneath the trees—architecture made more beautiful by how lightly it touches its setting.

Photography

Great MEP work for world-class architecture is rarely seen because all of our coordination disappears behind walls and into refined details—it simply works as it should. The photographers who capture the spirit of these places so brilliantly remind us that what we create is beautiful because it is the sum of many parts becoming a whole. Please visit Leonid Furmansky's site for more beautiful work.

Positive Energy
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