Campus Architecture Database: Wister Education Center and Greenhouse

Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa.

Building Type: Other

Construction Type: New

Cost: $2.7-million

Square Footage: 5,200

Architect: Archer & Buchanan Architecture

Contractor: W.S. Cumby Inc.

Opened: 2009

The Wister Education Center and Greenhouse is designed to support the work of Swarthmore’s Scott Arboretum, which educates the public about the benefits of horticulture, the use of native plant materials, the preservation of ecological systems, and the beauty of gardening. The facility contains a classroom, space for horticultural displays, a greenhouse, and a support area for the arboretum’s 105 volunteers. Sustainable-design features include a heat-pump system that uses the college’s chilled-water loop as a year-round heat exchanger. The building is expected to earn at least LEED silver certification.

(Photos: Jessica Fogle)

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