Environmental Education Building

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.

The building’s series of butterfly roof structures which provide shading, along with generous glazing and operable windows located along the top, are features of passive lighting and cooling strategies, allowing for ample daylight and natural ventilation in appropriate seasons to increase sustainable, lower energy operation of the building. Biophilic design principles reinforce the connection to nature, with exposed local yellow pine throughout, direct outdoor views in all spaces, CNC cut outs of nature motifs and details like butterfly door handles that accommodate both adults and children. Consistent with the mission of the Kreher Nature Preserve, healthy trees are saved and incorporated into the design and all stormwater is managed naturally on-site including rainwater collected from the butterfly roofs channeled by a large scupper to a bioswale below which help filter and keep rainwater longer on site. Constructed from timber harvested locally, the Environmental Education Building celebrates the potential of wood – aesthetically, economically, and environmentally. Exposed natural wood throughout, including the mass timber structure for ceilings and walls, along with hardwood floors and durable black locust wooden decks make sustainable forestry a tangible part of the school experience and provides biophilic spaces that promote human well-being. The building incorporates cross laminated timber (CLT) produced in near-by Dothan, Alabama with southern yellow pine from the area as a demonstration of this new, sustainable building product with great economic potential for the region’s forestry-based industries. In addition, the building’s wood structure and wood finishes maximize the project’s carbon sequestration potential while greatly limiting the use of concrete and thereby further reducing the overall embodied carbon of the project. 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.