Engineering services for the new $7 million, 10,000 sf Nicandri Nature Center that replaces three buildings that were heavily damaged in a fire. The facility has an entry hall with a water display, exhibit hall with nature exhibits, educational classrooms and support facilities. 

The Owner established a goal of constructing a LEED Silver facility as part of the design criteria. Because there is no gas service to the site, our team was challenged in the design process to look beyond the obvious choice of electric heat. To that end, four different HVAC systems were modeled. The HVAC comparison resulted in the ground source heat pumps (geothermal) system being selected. Other energy efficient equipment included energy recovery ventilation and demand control ventilation. Our team also provided enhanced building commissioning as part of our LEED/sustainability services. 

Architect of Record and photo credit: Stieglitz Snyder Architecture