Wister Education Center and Greenhouse
Overview
Project Costs
LEED Certification
Overview
The newest addition to the Swarthmore College campus opened on Friday, November 6, 2009. The Wister Education Center and Greenhouse, designed by Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd. of West Chester, PA, is an energy efficient multipurpose facility which supports the programs and aspirations of The Scott Arboretum.
“The building is a teaching tool as well as an enclosure,” said Dan Russoniello, AIA, LEED AP, a partner at Archer & Buchanan. “The Scott Arboretum is committed to sustainability and the organization sets a national example with this building.”
The new 5,200-square foot structure provides a classroom for public educational activities, exhibit areas for horticultural displays and plant evaluations, a greenhouse for cultivation and propagation, and support space for arboretum staff and volunteers. The building and site design have several innovative features, which will form the basis of a case study in sustainability. The new building replaces a much smaller greenhouse that had become functionally obsolete over the past 25 years. The project team is working toward silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
In early 2009, the design of the Wister Education Center and Greenhouse was named a “Green Building of America” award-winning project. The center was selected from more than 2,500 nominated projects and will be spotlighted in Real Estate & Construction Review - Northeast Green Success Stories in early 2010.
Project Costs
The project costs for the first phase of this building came to $3.85 million. In addition, a restricted endowment fund goal of $600,000 was established to provide for its long term care and maintenance costs. The endowment fund has been established and the goal reached thanks to a combination of outright cash gifts, pledges, and planned gifts that have not all been realized to date.
At the time of the completion of the construction (December 2009), we still need to raise about $500,000 to complete the project-construction costs and return the funds advanced for construction to the College. We have committed to do this by 2014. You can help us by clicking here to make a donation to the Wister Center building fund. Once this is accomplished, we will be able to develop the schematic plan for the landscape around the Wister Center as the next phase. To see photos of the completed Wister Center and Greenhouse, click here. To see the schematic landscape plan designed by Jonathan Alderson click here.
Learn more about the LEED certification efforts for the Wister Center:
Working with LEED Accredited Professionals
Controlling Storm Water Runoff
Green Building of America Award
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Greenhouse and Education Center contact Claire Sawyers, director, at 610-328-8026 or via e-mail at scott {at} swarthmore (dot) e d u.