Listen to a segment on the
Visitor Center that aired
on WFPL 89.3FM on 12/14.

Visitor Center in the news:
Arboretum Visitor Center
     Stands Tall
Kentucky’s Bernheim Arboretum
     Earns Top Green Building
     Rating
Bernheim Arboretum
     Research Forest
     gets ‘greener’
Visitor Center in Brazil,
     Arquitetura & Urbanismo

The Bernheim Visitor Center includes the creative work of many people. Most notably:
• William McDonough +
     Partners, Architects
• Barnette Bagley
      Architects, PSC
• Greg Jackson,
      LEED consultant
• Ron Perkins,
     Supersymmetry,
     Commissioning Agent
• Shrout Tate Wilson,
     Mechanical/Electrical
     Engineers
• Buell Fryer McReynolds,
     Structural
     Engineers
• Prajna Design &
     Construction, Inc.
• Gray Construction,
     Contractor
• Bernheim Board of Trustees
     and Staff
• Capital Campaign Donors

More information on the
Visitor Center

More information on
USBGC and LEED certification

Clermont, KY (December 11, 2007) ------ Despite the cold winter weather and bare trees, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest just got greener – environmentally greener to be exact. The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Bernheim with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification for construction of its Visitor Center. This is the highest level award one can receive for green building practices and the first Platinum rating awarded to a building in Kentucky or the surrounding region - Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.“

Our overall mission is to connect people with nature. The Visitor Center helps set the stage for storytelling about sustainability, and great stories are the bedrock of meaningful education. The project helps illuminate the spiritual, biological and economic advantages of living in agreement with nature. We wanted to translate that mission into the design of our Visitor Center and truly blur the distinction between the indoors and the outdoors,” said Claude Stephens, Bernheim’s Education Director. “We want visitors to study our sustainable techniques and see how they can use them in their own homes. From using bio-diesel in our mowers to building ‘green,’ we are exploring a number of environmentally friendly projects at Bernheim.”

After a successful capital campaign led by the Board of Trustees and staff, Bernheim worked with the architecture and community design firm William McDonough + Partners to create a design based around the idea: “imagine a building like a tree.” The William McDonough + Partners team collaborated with the architect of record, Barnette Bagley Architects of Lexington, Ky.  The 12-foot grid design, completed in April of 2004, was inspired by the architecture of Bernheim’s garden, and incorporated trellises, arbors, pergolas, a living roof and structures that work in tandem with growing plants.

Key sustainable design features include passive and active solar design, geothermal exchange for heating and cooling the building, and integration of local and regional materials. To assure the least environmental impact, Bernheim’s Operations Department was responsible for all initial site preparation, the installation of the geothermal system, peat sewer treatment system, walkways and parking area.

Protecting the natural habitat was a priority for the team. The site itself was chosen in part to nestle among evergreen trees to the north, and deciduous trees to the south, optimizing seasonal shading and cooling potential. Only eight trees greater than 4” in diameter needed to be removed to accommodate both the building and parking lot, and these were either cut into lumber or ground into mulch for use in the arboretum. When the landscaping for the project matures there will be more plants growing on the site than before the construction – the building created a new green space.

The team focused on recycled materials while building the Visitor Center. Insulation came from recycled newspapers; the concrete, which absorbs sunlight in the winter, contains recycled concrete as well as fly ash; and the paving contains recycled asphalt. The building is assembled mainly from cypress wood that was sourced from old H.J. Heinz pickle vats and from old bourbon rack house lumber from Brown-Forman Corporation and Jim Beam Brands. Native Kentucky woods like the Kentucky coffee tree, shagbark hickory, cherry, walnut, sassafras, hackberry and black locust were also used in the interior. To offset the use of wood, Bernheim planted 256 cypress trees to create a new Cypress-Tupelo Swamp along a lake at Bernheim.

Bernheim relies on green methods to run the Visitor Center including a “rain garden” planted with water-loving trees like the water tupelo and bald cypress, which helps hold onto and purify the water. To accommodate the largest user of water in the building - toilets - water is harvested from the roof and held in an 8,000-gallon underground cistern. Water features are central to the design, even down to a sloped parking lot surface to carry runoff containing pollutants to oyster mushrooms beds, which help transform these pollutants into compounds that don’t harm the environment.

Bernheim’s Visitor Center is but one step towards the focus on greener practices. The Board and staff look forward to a long journey of building healthier environments for the well-being of nature and all that belongs to it – and to teach and inspire others to create sustainability in their own lives, for green living – in any season.

About Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is a 14,000 acre privately-owned non-profit organization nestled in the scenic Kentucky knoblands in Clermont, Kentucky. Bernheim is Kentucky’s Official Arboretum, encompassing a 250 acre nationally-recognized arboretum, landscaped gardens, tranquil lakes, and a 14,000 acre research forest managed as a natural area. Located off of Highway 245 in Clermont, Kentucky, Bernheim is open daily, except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, from 7 a.m. until sunset. The Visitor Center, Art Gallery, and Nature Shop are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

About LEED
The LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a voluntary third party rating system where credits are earned for satisfying specified green building criteria. Projects are evaluated within six environmental categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels of green building certification are awarded based on the total credits earned. The LEED standard has been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and interested private companies as the industry standard of measurement for green building. Currently, there are 7 LEED Silver rated buildings in Kentucky and 2 buildings in Kentucky which have received a LEED Certified rating.

Selected Quotes:
Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council
“Bernheim’s Visitor Center is to be commended for achieving LEED certification. This facility is one that both the community and its customers can be proud of. Bernheim’s Visitor Center will be a showcase for high-performance, energy-efficient, healthy sustainable living, and an inspiration for others.”

John Davies, Director, Division of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Kentucky Governor's Office of Energy Policy
"This is an outstanding achievement for Bernheim Forest and Kentucky. It demonstrates that when all stakeholders work together in building design and construction great accomplishments are attainable. Worldwide there are only 68 buildings with a LEED Platinum certification, having one in Kentucky is truly a high honor.”

W. Austin Musselman, Jr., President, Board of Trustees
“Almost a decade ago, Bernheim was already planting the seeds for a sustainable building. The environmentally friendly Visitor Center is only one part of the many exciting advancements that have occurred as a result of our capital campaign. We’re so proud of the center, which wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the generous donors that shared our vision, and we hope that it will serve as a model for other sustainable construction in our communities, certified or not.”

William McDonough, FAIA, founding partner, William McDonough + Partners
“The idea of ‘a building like a tree’ had special resonance for this project. This is a metaphor that I have talked about for many years, and it really shaped the process here. I applaud the organization’s effort to reach for—and achieve—the industry’s best known benchmark, LEED Certification at the Platinum level. We salute Bernheim, a treasure of Kentucky, for being a catalyst in the state and region.”

Kevin Burke, AIA, partner, William McDonough + Partners
“The primary design objective for the Bernheim Visitor Center was deceptively simple: connect people with nature.  In order to meet this objective while also meeting the highest levels of environmental performance, the design team had the distinct pleasure of connecting with the extraordinary Bernheim community—one of rare spirit, commitment, talent and tenacity.  The building and its achievements are testimony to the persistence of the Bernheim community’s vision.”

Greg Jackson, Architect, LEED AP; Principal, TOPIA design
“The design integrates the functional and inspirational goals with green design principles to create a unified synergetic expression. The building elements and form serve all project intentions holistically. The design approach reflects the belief that green design is simply good design.”

Lee Rambo Bagley, AIA, Barnette Bagley Architects
“Beginning with our work to assist Bernheim in updating its Olmsted created Master Plan, we have been honored to be a part of such a dedicated group of visionaries selflessly developing this vital project. The project team has truly extended Mr. Bernheim's gift and built a valuable legacy in the giant's wonderful garden. ”

Rob Frederick, Development and Marketing Committee Chair, Board of Trustees
“I’ve taken my five and two year old daughters to the Visitor Center and seen them swept away by the place. It was designed with nature and future generations in mind and captures the spirit and imagination just like being in the forest itself.”

Roger Fauver, Bernheim Operations Director
“The construction of our new Visitor Center was a terrific learning process for all of us connected with its design, construction, and its everyday use.  We realized our original dream of having a ‘double green’ building – we went for and achieved extraordinary green design. ”