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Environmental Education Building
Environmental Education Building
Auburn, AL, United States
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Other Projects by Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Environmental Education Building
Auburn, AL, United States
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2024
SIZE
3000 sqft - 5000 sqft
BUDGET
$1M - 5M
Nestled within the 120-acre tract of the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center, the new Environmental Education Building promotes wonder and exploration of the natural world and cultivates a sense of stewardship toward our community and environment by reinforcing the importance of harmony between nature (plant life and animal life) and humans. Inspired by nature-based learning that children experience daily and imagined as an extension of the network of trails throughout the preserve, by which the children explore nature, the Environmental Education Building is organized along a central spine corridor which bends in an informal manner, a metaphor for a “learning trail.” Accessed by this “learning trail,” light-filled classrooms alternate with administrative area and a series of open and covered porches that extend out into the natural woodlands beyond.
In addition, the building’s predominantly all-wood structure and wood finishes with minimal use of concrete and steel, minimize its embodied carbon and maximize its carbon sequestration. The mostly all-wood project - with mass timber structure, light frame wood framing for non-load bearing partitions and deck structure, wood flooring and decking, stained wood siding, wood windows and doors – will be a “building as a teaching tool” that demonstrates the potential of locally sourced wood as a sustainable, low embodied carbon solution critical to addressing today’s climate crisis.
In addition, passive design principals such as butterfly roofs with high operable windows and low energy fans, south facing porches and exterior but covered corridors provide ventilation and shading and minimize dependence on air-conditioning and limits the area of conditioned spaces to those that are absolutely necessary in humid Alabama climate.
Together, these elements visually and tangibly tell this sustainable story in a forest preserve setting, from pre-school to high school children as well as many visitors to the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center.
In addition, the building’s predominantly all-wood structure and wood finishes with minimal use of concrete and steel, minimize its embodied carbon and maximize its carbon sequestration. The mostly all-wood project - with mass timber structure, light frame wood framing for non-load bearing partitions and deck structure, wood flooring and decking, stained wood siding, wood windows and doors – will be a “building as a teaching tool” that demonstrates the potential of locally sourced wood as a sustainable, low embodied carbon solution critical to addressing today’s climate crisis.
In addition, passive design principals such as butterfly roofs with high operable windows and low energy fans, south facing porches and exterior but covered corridors provide ventilation and shading and minimize dependence on air-conditioning and limits the area of conditioned spaces to those that are absolutely necessary in humid Alabama climate.
Together, these elements visually and tangibly tell this sustainable story in a forest preserve setting, from pre-school to high school children as well as many visitors to the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center.
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