The Graeser Family Education Center is the first structure at the Waterfront Botanical Gardens, created on a former landfill site which had been unusable for decades. It has been redesigned to be 23.5 acres of lush, verdant, sustainable public space: the first botanical garden in Louisville. The education center, surrounding trails, and gardens provide green space to residents and visitors, while educating the public on topics of conservation and sustainability.
The form of the Graeser Family Education Center is organic, providing a sculptural presence on the grounds. The building contains three separate areas to accommodate a variety of needs: a meeting and event room, an enclosed building core element, and a flexible main space for education programs. The long spans of the wooden structure are supported by a continuous ribbon-like ring beam that sits on 99 micro-columns around the perimeter. Each column provides space for donor recognition, which was critical to build momentum in this initial fundraising phase.
The design of the Graeser Family Education Center and surrounding gardens prioritizes wellness and sustainability, and is intended to engage visitors in conservation from entry to exit. Nestled among native plants with easy access to the outdoor plaza, it is geothermally heated and provides abundant daylight. The project also features a sustainability garden that includes edible, native, and nectar-producing plants that attract pollinators, and an on-site storm water treatment and collection system. The newly planted landscaping will continue to grow, with most plants fully in bloom by summer 2020.
All the information about how to enter the 2020 WAN Awards is here.
We are very happy to offer support so please don’t hesitate to email Georgia, WAN Awards Event Coordinator with any questions at Georgia.Baily@haymarket.com.
Last year more than 40 countries took part in the WAN Awards with strong showings from Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. And we saw some truly outstanding projects, take a look at the winners from last year here.