American Red Cross Capital Area HQ

The American Red Cross Capital Area Headquarters is a 20,300-square-foot, LEED-certified facility that includes an administrative wing, four large meeting rooms, a fully equipped kitchen, a warehouse, and an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Designed as a hardened facility, it is built to withstand Category 5 hurricanes, with wind speeds exceeding 150 mph.

To meet these rigorous structural and performance demands, we utilized insulated concrete forms (ICF), marking the first commercial application of this system in Tallahassee. This material was chosen for its exceptional strength, high thermal efficiency (R-value), and excellent sound insulation, making it ideal for both resilience and occupant comfort. The design utilizes redundant support systems that will allow it to remain operational even if the surrounding region is devastated by a hurricane or other catastrophic event.
During such a crisis, the occupant load of the building will be significantly greater. Systems were chosen that could meet both this peak demand and the normal day-to-day demand efficiently.

Part-way through the design process, the Red Cross experienced a change in leadership. Dodstone was able to implement the design changes requested by the new administration, and kept the project moving forward, on schedule, and under budget.

The Red Cross Headquarters was the first building permitted on a 42-acre site that now also includes the Joint City/County Safety Campus. Dodstone spearheaded the effort to permit the entire site and to design the holding pond, to accommodate future growth, as well as a portion of the future Weems Road expansion. This required coordination and policy meetings with officials and engineers from.