Three major goals were set for the project: to achieve LEED™ Gold status, to design a site and building that truly included and engaged the public, and to create a comfortable and efficient work environment.
Unique design elements include a celebratory visitor entrance, curved glue-laminated wood beams, day-lit office space, clerestory glazing, an employee plaza with water feature, and sculptural interpretive signs. Integration of the landscape into and throughout the building acts as a seamless design and educational element. Storm water is held on site via the use of bio-swales, rain gardens, and detention basins, all circuitously linked together in a ribbon of green, the site’s unifying aesthetic element.