The Forrest County FEMA Shelter was designed as a free standing storm shelter at the Forrest County Multi-Purpose Center south of Hattiesburg. The constricting site selected for the shelter combined with the structural requirements of FEMA 361 drove the final shape and materiality of the building. The color and texture of its exterior was chosen to match the existing adjacent building at the site. The shelter is 10,778 SF cast-in-place concrete structure. The requirements of FEMA 361 stated that the building had to resist winds of 200 MPH and a projectile missile (a 15 LB 2x4) traveling at 100 MPH. These requirements resulted in small windows hidden in pockets and protected by 1/4 inch thick steel shutters. The exterior walls are twelve inches thick and the roof deck is nine inches thick. The interior environment needed natural and mechanical ventilation once the storm had passed for its occupants. To accomplish this there are several low operable windows to let air in and several clerestory windows to vent air out creating a natural air flow.

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