Project profile: Cusano Center at Tinicum

The Cusano Environmental Education Center (CEEC) is located at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia. The project consists of two buildings—a classroom building and an exhibit building—linked by a boardwalk. A third building, for administrative offices, will be constructed in the future. The CEEC's three main goals are: preserving and restoring Tinicum marsh, promoting environmental education, and providing visitors with an opportunity to study wildlife in its natural habitat.

The mission of the CEEC is to demonstrate, within an urban setting, the importance of the natural world to human quality of life and to inspire visitors to become responsible stewards of the environment. In support of this mission, the designs for the site, building, and exhibits have been closely integrated to uphold the principles of sustainable design.

The key sustainable design attributes of the CEEC plan focus on energy, construction materials, and water use. In addition, the educational and interpretive goals of the CEEC were given high priority in the building design.
(2003 AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects recipient)