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Raystown Field Station

 

Juniata College, Huntingdon County, PA

 

 

Center for Sustainability Study

 

The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

 

 

It was proposed the Center for Sustainability locate components of its program to the Old Botany site of Penn State University. Desireable elements to be housed in the facility include a greenhouse and Living Machine™, the Alternatives Library, a Juice Bar/Café, and meeting and classroom space. A new building would also afford the Center the opportunity to implement many of its green design philosophies and serve as a demonstration site.  Formal gardens once graced the site on which Old Botany stands; it was proposed to recreate the formal gardens within a modern context, perhaps through the use of native plants and edible landscaping. The gardens include a pond as an extension of the Living Machine™, a pump house, a potager, and enclosing garden walls.  A reproduction of the original greenhouse would be constructed which would contain the Living Machine™ with research and aquaculture trains, and serve as a place for educating students, the public, and alumni about green technologies and design.

Centre County Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Facilities

 

Centre County Solid Waste Authority, Bellefonte, PA

 

 

The growth of the Centre Region  has resulted in the need to expand the existing waste and recycling transfer facility.  The program for the renovation and expansion includes relocated and renovated administrative office space, new interpretive educational center, new maintenance building, expanded recycling process/storage area, and a new scale house complex.  HPArchitects utilized existing building foundations in the construction of the Administrative and Interpretive Centers. The foundations and steel structure were salvaged for reuse, and existing metal siding and roofing were removed for reuse and recycling at the facility, providing considerable savings in terms of landfill weight and volume.  The design of the Centre County Solid Waste Authority Interpretive Center provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate sustainable building technologies as part of an actual construction project.  The focus of the Interpretive Center is a multi-purpose assembly room which features expansive views of site operations. This new resource facility will provide the space for meetings, seminars, library and interactive displays.  The construction and design methods employed promote resource and energy conservation initiatives, and in addition, all interior finishes were selected for their environmental sensitivity, recycled content and post-use recoverability - a common theme to all new work at the facility. 

The research field station at Lake Raystown will provide a truly unique environmental studies resource to Juniata College.  A multi-purpose/dining hall structure and classroom/lab building will accommodate the educational aspects of the program while a series of housing units will allow for a total immersion experience for students and guests.   Water will be drawn from the lake and treated on-site for domestic use.  A “living machine” for the treatment of waste water is also programmed into the development. Shuster Hall is the first LEED-Certified building at Juniata College’s Raystown Field Station, providing state-of-the-art field facilities within a unique “green” campus.  Shuster Hall is the first of a multi-phased master plan that will establish year-round educational programs available to all students of Juniata College.  Students will reside on the site for a full semester thereby facilitating a total immersion experience. Shuster Hall incorporates “green design” principles such as maximized day lighting, operable windows, optimal solar orientation, and use of locally produced/manufactured construction materials.  Full built-out utility infrastructure  will include innovative technologies such as composting toilets, a “living machine” for treatment of gray water, and lake source water supply.  The U.S. Green Building Council awarded Shuster Hall with the “Certified” level of compliance with the LEED program in March 2004.