World Ark Magazine - March/April 2008 - (Page 42) Heifer Bulletin News From The Field Heifer Headquarters Architects Win National Award By Austin Gelder, World Ark Associate Editor The accolades for Heifer International’s headquarters continue to pile up. Designers of the Little Rock, Ark., building recently captured one of architecture’s highest honors by winning the National American Institute of Architects 2008 Honor Award. This latest award adds to a long list of kudos for the “green” building designed with sustainability in mind. The building was listed as one of the Top 10 Green Projects in the United States for 2007 and is also Arkansas’ first LEED Platinum building, a designation marking the highest level of sustainable design. Project designer Reese Rowland, an architect for Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects in Little Rock, said designing Heifer’s headquarters offered the rare opportunity to reflect an organization’s mission in brick and mortar. The building’s curved form and circular site design represent the practice, common around the globe, of people sitting together in circles and facing each other as equals as they make important decisions. The circular design also reflects Heifer’s practice of “passing on the gift,” in which recipient families pass on gifts of animals and training to others in need, creating concentric rings of influence that radiate outward to encompass entire communities. The building is constructed of 41 percent recycled materials, and 70 percent of the building materials used are recyclable. Architects also incorporated local lumber, stone and other materials whenever possible. Rainwater captured from the roof and parking lot is used in the building’s heating and cooling system and to feed wetlands and flush toilets. “This is not only a building, it’s a building telling a wonderful story,” said David Porter, who oversaw construction of the headquarters. Rowland was excited about the latest award, but said the usefulness of the building was more important than the prestige. “In the end, this building is just a tool to help Heifer end world hunger,” he said. 42 March/April 2008 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org Photo by Tim Hursley http://www.heifer.org
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.