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Oregon Zoo Education Center
Project Type:
Education
Project Location:
4001 Southwest Canyon Road
Portland, Oregon 97221
USA
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Views to Outdoors: 
15' to Operable Windows: 
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Awards and Acknowledgements:
AIA Committee on the Environment:
2019 Top Ten
Design Features:
Solar Energy, Net Zero, Resilient Design Principles, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, POE
Project Summary:
Inspiring visitors to engage in sustainable actions is the mission of the design and exhibits at the Oregon Zoo’s Education Center. The center—the fifth project funded by the zoo bond—provides a home base for thousands of children who participate in camps and classes annually and serves as a regional hub, expanding the zoo's youth programs through collaborations with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other partners. The center includes classrooms, meeting spaces, gardens, and a Nature Exploration Station (NESt), inspiring visitors to get outside, learn about nature, and take action on behalf of nature. Illustrating that “Small Things Matter,” the zoo provides its 1.7 million annual visitors with interactive exhibits that demonstrate how actions can help maintain a healthy planet. The center creates dialogue between the built and natural environment, with each interior space offering a corresponding visible and connected outdoor space. The wood and steel woven structure of the NESt is inspired by the nests of animals creating shelter and order in the environment. The NESt is the center of activity that visitors access through large sliding doors. They learn the stories of local conservation heroes and access the turtle conservation lab and the Insect Zoo—where the smallest of animals can have the largest ecosystem impacts. Within a plaza at the west end of the zoo, the tight, irregular site has curving boundaries of exhibits, the zoo railway, a pedestrian path, and a steep south hillside. The building hugs the central plaza, and learning landscapes exist throughout. Inspired by the unique spiral patterns prevalent in natural systems, two curved roofs welcome visitors to the plaza. Sustainable elements, including solar panels, native plants, bird-safe windows, and rain gardens, are designed to educate the public. The center recently earned LEED Platinum certification with 82 points and Portland AIA’s 2030 COTE award.

(Source: AIA COTE 2019)
Tapestry Statistics:
UID: 
US-ORGZOO
Added: 
2019-04-23 22:23:51
Updated: 
2019-04-23 22:49:07
Content Score: 
133.78
Profile Views: 
712
Click Throughs: 
99
Design and Construction Team:
KPFF
Civil Engineer
Fortis Construction
General Contractor
Jones & Jones
Interpretive Consultant, Landscape Architect
News Articles:
Thumbnails:
Images:
Christian Columbres
Christian Columbres
Christian Columbres
Christian Columbres
Christian Columbres
Christian Columbres
Opsis Architecture
Opsis Architecture