High Performing Buildings - Spring 2008 - (Page 63) Engaging Nature The 19,000 center is located at the headwaters of the Huron River, nine miles northwest of Pontiac, Mich. Nestled among the low rolling hills of the surrounding metropark, the center’s simple standing seam copper gable roof is reminiscent of the local rural homesteads. Bents made of glued laminated timber (glulam) form the quasi-vertical member and the horizontal roof member supporting the wood roof deck. Canted to one side, the glulam bents create the opaque north elevation and the open southern façade. The exposed construction of the Discovery Center blends with the natural surroundings and enhances the educational function of the facility. The building’s two-story main floor entrance descends into the lower floors and opens up to a discovery wing on the east and a multipurpose room on the west. The transparent southern façade of the structure © Laszlo Regos Photography, Courtesy of SmithGroup ft2 offers a panorama of the outlying wetlands. A gently sloping edge of the building conceals the parking lot from the inside. Every room in the facility offers an unobstructed view of the surrounding wetlands. B U I L D I N G AT A G L A N C E Building Name The Environmental Discovery Center at Indian Springs Metropark Location 5200 Indian Trail, White Lake, Mich. Size 19,000 ft2 Started 2002 Completed 2005 Use Metropark educational program center with classrooms, laboratories and a multipurpose room Cost $4.8 million Distinctions Second Place, 2008 ASHRAE Technology Awards Viewing Levels The Discovery Center has three levels: above the water, at the water, and in the water. Each level provides a different view of the wetlands and educates visitors about the ecosystem. To meet the needs of the educational programs envisioned by the metroparks, the building required classrooms, laboratories and a multipurpose room. The entry level, located above the water, offers an environmental interpretive studio on the east wing, with laboratory benches and equipment for performing experiments using information gathered on-site. The west wing holds a multipurpose room that seats 200 people and can be BUILDING TEAM Owner Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Architect SmithGroup Engineer SmithGroup Construction Administration SmithGroup General Contractor JM Olson Corporation © Justin Maconochie Photography, Courtesy of SmithGroup After heating or cooling the building, geothermal by-product water fills the building’s 1.7 acre wetland pond. Spring 2008 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 63
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