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 a GOLD -LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certificated 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 5,200-square foot structure provides a classroom for public educational activities, 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.
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 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 about $3.7 million. In addition, a restricted endowment fund of $600,000 was established to provide for its long term care and maintenance costs.
We still need to raise about $300,000 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.
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
Wister Center Awarded Gold LEED Certification
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.
