Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 8/08/16

Chattahoochee Nature Center, The Discovery Center
Roswell, GA, USA
2,000 sf. Greenroof

Project of the Week Description & Details

The Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC) is located on the Chattahoochee River in Roswell, Georgia and sits on a beautiful site comprised of 127 acres of native plants and gardens that showcase the area’s beauty. Designed by Lord Aeck Sargent, the property includes a River Boardwalk; wetland demonstration gardens and woodland trails; live, native animals; special events; a lakeside pavilion; and the LEED Gold Discovery Center with its 2,000 square foot Native Green Roof Terrace. Built into a hillside, The Discovery Center blends with the landscape. The two-level Center features both permanent and changing interactive exhibits focusing on stewardship, conservation and education; the Chattahoochee River Resource Gallery; the Native Green Roof Terrace, and more.

Located just off the upper exhibit gallery, the Green Roof Terrace offers stunning views of the surrounding forest and wetlands and winter views of the Chattahoochee River, using the Extensive Garden Roof® system from American Hydrotech. Planted with mostly native plants of the rock outcroppings of the Georgia Piedmont, natives include Prickly Pear Cactus, Large Flowered Tickseed, Georgia Rush, Hairy Lip Fern, and Stone Mountain Daisy, among others. Interpretive signage allows CNC education staff to teach the benefits of living roofs. Rainwater is collected from the upper butterfly roof and four underground cisterns can hold up to 4,600 gallons of water which are used to supply the low flow toilets and occasionally irrigate the gardens. The greenroof has a valuable environmental educational role in two key areas: 1) exposing the public and visitors to a plant palette not currently used in the greenroof industry; and 2) educating visitors about the underappreciated landscape of granite rock outcrops. Celebrating their 40th Anniversary throughout 2016, the Chattahoochee Nature Center is a unique place where people connect to each other and the land through a shared respect for nature.

The American bald eagle is just one of over 50 species of injured, non-releasable wildlife here at the Chattahoochee Nature Center; photo from their Facebook page.

Year: 2009
Owner: Chattahoochee Nature Center
Location: Roswell, GA, USA
Building Type: Museum
Type: Semi-Extensive
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 2000 sq.ft.
Slope: 2%
Access: Inaccessible, Open to Public

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Architect: Lord Aeck Sargent
Landscape Architect, Project Manager and Lead Designer: David Sacks, EDAW (now AECOM)
General Contractor: Genoa Construction
Exhibit Design: AldrichPears Associates
Program Manager and Owner Representative: Silverman CPM
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection, Commissioning: Newcomb & Boyd
Civil Engineer: AEC
Structural Engineer: Palmer Engineering Co.
Greenroof System: Extensive Garden Roof®, American Hydrotech
Native Plant Propagation: CNC Director of Grounds, Henning von Schmeling, Chattahoochee Nature Center
Planting Design: Micah Lipscomb, EDAW (now AECOM)

View the PROJECT PROFILE to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

The Chattahoochee Nature Center, c 2009 Jonathan Hillyer / Atlanta via Pitchengine.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the Chattahoochee Nature Center, The Discovery Center Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

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By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher