Nature Center Goes Green at New Building

NEWPORT BEACH, CA-The Environmental Nature Center plans to break ground Tuesday on a new 9,000-sf LEED-certified facility designed by Irvine-based LPA Inc. that will replace portable trailers that the center has been using as classrooms for the past 30 years. The nonprofit Nature Center’s new building will provide facilities for students studying the Southern California ecology and environment.

Rick D’Amato, design principal at LPA, points out that the 9,000-sf Nature Center building was designed to meet the LEED platinum certification for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. It is estimated that LPA’s sustainable design will save the ENC $20,000 on an annual basis.

According to Bo Glover, executive director of the ENC, the nature center sought a green design “to complement our commitment to natural science education.” The design will also demonstrate to students and visitors alike that “green design is the wave of the future,” Glover comments.