Brian Strawm and Karla Sierralta

Strawn & Sierralta’s design for the Ford Calumet Environmental Center is based on the phenomenon of adaptation. Recycled and renewable materials form the skin of the building. Salvaged car-hoods shade and insulate the east side of the environmental center. Native Virginia Creeper grows on the west face of the building, protecting its interiors from the summer sun. This façade will change with the seasons, providing a green face in the spring and summer, and an orange and red one in the fall; in winter the leaves will turn brown and disappear. The plant will weave itself into a structure of galvanized pipe. Reclaimed utility poles act as a visual screen on the north face of the center. The poles spread across the site to form five satellite labs around the marsh. The groupings of poles support wooden platforms that act as resting points along the trails. The center’s roof is an experimental vegetation lab, observation area, and education space. Researchers will utilize the green roof to experiment with various plantings of endemic species. This introduction of desirable native plants will promote seed dispersal onto the site.