(continued)

The Cusano Environmental Education Center site, in Tinicum Township, had been an abused area for decades, serving as a landfill and as a route to the airport.

Restoring Water Systems

The new center is set in Tinicum Marsh, which had been the largest freshwater tidal wetland in Pennsylvania. The center's storm water management system has been designed to copy the natural water systems that once existed on the site.

The parking lots act as pretreatment traps to reduce the pollutants going into Darby Creek. Rainwater collects under the porous paving in an subsurface reservoir and then drains into the ground. The building itself is set on stilts so the Darby Creek can run underneath.

The completed buildings form a V shape around ponds that harbor protected waterfowl and plants. The surrounding marshland, in turn, serves to treat wastewater from the buildings.

According to Martin, "The siting of the building respects natural features and land and drainage patterns. The area will be richly planted with trees, shrubs, ferns, sedges and rushes. The whole area will become an excellent viewing arena for bird and butterfly watchers."

A Commitment to Recycling

The glass-walled series of connected one-story buildings stretches across the swampy site. Green metal frames connect the multitude of rectangular windows facing the main building, where glass doors open to porches that sit on stilts above the swampy ground.

The central portion of the building includes an exhibit space, gift shop, resource office, and a multipurpose room. In a wing that forms part of the V are two 40-student classrooms with areas for wet-lab instruction and a microscope viewing counter. There is also a covered outdoor instructional area.

Martin says: "Susan Maxman & Partners was selected because we had designed energy-efficient buildings in the late 1990s that included solar heating." He said the team set out to prove that "good design includes more than appearance." It must contribute to energy efficiency and replenishment of resources.

All the materials used for construction are either recycled or come from sustainably harvested wood. For example, the rubber floor mats are made from old tires, the floor tile from auto glass, the deck from recycled plastic, and the pitched roof is covered with sturdy 15- to 20-year-old steel shingles.

The building's siding is made of wood fiber made to look like cedar siding. The wood for the framing comes from 70-year-old Douglas Fir rail timbers.

"To find the correct wood," Martin explains, "we went to the Forest Stewardship Council. Their Web site helps architects, builders, and contractors find wood that is either recycled or grown in a way that will not deplete forests."

Wastewater

Attached to the exhibit building, is the "Marsh Machine," an ecological wastewater treatment system that reprocesses all the water from the visitor center.

Alminana says saving water was an important component of the center. Water from the restrooms is treated and recycled. "There is no reason that water to be flushed down a toilet has to be drinking quality," he notes. Treated water is also used in a greenhouse.

Through a solar aquatics system, marsh plants thrive and ponds help recycle flushed water. "When the water is treated properly, the marsh doesn't smell", Alminana adds.

The project was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of a sustainable design program. Two of the three buildings and the site were completed in late 2000. The administration building will be completed in summer, 2001.

Diane M. Fiske is an architecture writer in Philadelphia.

The building wings form a V around a pond and marshy area. The connected structures are built from recycled materials and rest on stilts above Darby Creek. Image: Susan Maxman & Partners Building entry seen through the trees. Photo: Susan Maxman & Partners The exhibit hall displays native plants and sustainable design principles and provides a wildlife observation platform. Photo: Susan Maxman & Partners A gift shop enables visitors to take some of their learning experience home and to help support the Wetlands Management Program. Photo: Susan Maxman & Partners An energy and daylighting analysis was performed to optimize the sun shading and glare control for the exhibit areas. Shown here: conditions in the spring with display glass. Image: Donald Prowler & Associates Energy and daylighting analysis. Shown here: conditions in the winter without display glass. Image: Donald Prowler & Associates A diagram helps students follow the flow from toilet to "marsh machine" to a fish tank to nearby Darby Creek and the revitalized wetland. Image: Susan Maxman & Partners The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum parallels Darby Creek. The new environmental education center borders a wetland and a porous parking lot that reabsorbs water. Image: Susan Maxman & Partners   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.