From the Mid-Atlantic Associations of Museums:
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums awarded the 4th annual “Buildy” Award to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens‘ Tropical Forest Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. According to the MAAM website, the “Buildy” award “recognizes the most outstanding recent museum construction project” and is intended to “increase awareness within the field, and by the public at large, of the value of museums and the need for their ongoing rehabilitation and expansion to serve future generations.”
The design team responsible for the Phipps redesign, was credited with reconsidering “how a conservatory or greenhouse uses 21st Century technologies.” The innovative design (scroll about halfway down for details specific to the TFC) allows for reduced winter heating costs and eliminated summer cooling costs.
The project is the work of a large interdisciplinary design and Construction team that includes IKM Inc., Architect; Turner Construction, General Contractor; FTC&H, MEP Engineers; MTR, Landscape Architects, CLR, Exhibit Design, Montgomery Smith Inc., Greenhouse Consultant; Indevco, Owners Representative.
The “Buildy” was presented at the 2012 Building Museums Symposium, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Read more about the Phipps Conservatory’s sustainable projects here.
A list of previous winners of the Buildy Awards are available here.