Frank Harmon Sees Third Green, Regional Project Open in Six Weeks
November 13, 2009 at 8:46 pm | In architecture, education, environmentalism, green architecture, land planning, landscape architecture, modern architecture, news | Leave a CommentTags: Gatesville NC, green architecture, green design, Merchants Millpond, sustainable design, visitors centers
November 13, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – The new Merchants Millpond Visitors Center 
and Open Air Classroom Building in Gatesville, NC, has opened to the public, marking the third thoroughly “green” project serving the public that award-winning Raleigh design firm Frank Harmon Architect PA has completed within the past six weeks.
The 7,500 square-foot Visitor Center and 600 square-foot Open Air Classroom, owned by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, is located in Merchants Millpond State Park. A Registered Natural Heritage Area that covers 1900 acres, the park includes the millpond and part of Lassiter Swamp. Parks & Recreation is charged with preserving the park’s diverse biological, scenic, archaeological, geological and recreational values and providing park experiences that promote pride in and understanding of North Carolina’s natural heritage.
The Visitor Center is situated uphill from the pond and parallel to the bank so that every 
space along the southeast side of the building has a view of the natural surroundings. A porch is also located along that elevation so visitors can easily step from the building into the outdoors. Clerestory windows on the northwest face of the building allow the exhibit space, auditorium, classroom, reception area and offices to enjoy natural lighting from two sides of the spaces.
The auditorium and classroom were designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a variety of functions. From the classroom, a trail leads to the detached, Open Air Classroom Building at the edge of the pond. This is also the point of arrival and departure for canoeing in the Millpond.
According to Erin Sterling, AIA, of Frank Harmon Architect PA, Parks and Recreation wanted the Visitor Center to be as sustainable as possible since it is Parks and Recreation’s first LEED rated building. As a result, the project features a sensitively designed parking lot that maintains trees for shade, geothermal heating and cooling, recycled materials, locally harvested materials, rainwater cisterns for landscape irrigation, low voc paints and adhesives, daylighting and natural ventilation. The project is currently pursuing LEED Gold Certification.
Construction materials and devices include recycled steel structural members, concrete block with high fly ash content, exterior cypress wood siding harvested from felled trees as a result of hurricane Isabel, standing seam metal roof which allows for high solar reflectivity, daylight sensors that contribute to energy savings by only allowing certain lights to come on when needed, low flow plumbing fixtures in restrooms.
“The design of the building was inspired by photographs of the old wooden mill building 
that once had a magnificent presence on the pond. The new Visitor Center’s most important space is the entry lobby located under a dramatically sloping roof supported by exposed wood beams and columns. A two story window at the end of the lobby captures a view of the millpond beyond. The floor material in this space is 100 year old reclaimed heart pine. Our client’s goal was to give visitors a welcoming feeling by using a similar language to the materials and construction of the old mill.” said Sterling, who served as Project Manager for the project.
The opening of the Merchants Millpond Visitor Center and Open Air Classroom Building comes on the heels of the openings of both the NC Botanical Garden new Visitor Education Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Walnut Creek Urban Wetlands Education Center in Southeast Raleigh – both public-serving and thoroughly sustainable projects. The Botanical Garden is slated for LEED Platinum certification, the “greenest” certification a building can receive.
For more information on Merchants Millpond, go to www.stateparks.com/merchants_millpond.html.
For more information on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.
About Frank Harmon Architect PA:
Frank Harmon Architect PA, a multi-award-winning firm headquartered in downtown Raleigh, has extensive experience with projects that blend architecture with enhancement of and education about natural resources, including the recently completed Walnut Creek Urban Wetlands Park Educational Center in Raleigh, Duke University’s Ocean Science Teaching Center in Beaufort, NC, the Walter B. Jones Center for the Sounds, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Columbia, NC, and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences’ Prairie Ridge Eco-Station in Raleigh. The firm is currently anticipating the opening of the NC Botanical Garden’s new Visitors Center in Chapel Hill and Merchants Millpond Outdoor Educational building in Gatesville, N.C. For more information, go to www.frankharmon.com
Two Raleigh Parks Will Get New Trees This Month
October 16, 2009 at 5:58 pm | In environmentalism, environmentalist, land planning, leisure activity, news, volunteer opportunity | Leave a CommentTags: Raleigh appearance, Raleigh parks, Raleigh Parks & Recreation
Changing the city one tree at a time. 
October 16, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – Trees Across Raleigh will hold its fall tree-planting events in Fletcher Park on Glenwood Avenue and Honeycutt Park on Honeycutt Road (off Falls of the Neuse Road) on Saturday, October 31, from 9 am. until noon. The public is invited to participate.
Trees Across Raleigh is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the City of Raleigh’s appearance, fostering greater community pride, and promoting economic development by planting trees throughout the city.
A volunteer and donation-based non-profit organization, Trees Across Raleigh has been planting trees in the Capital City since 1997. Working with the Raleigh Parks & Recreation Department, over 4300 Trees Across Raleigh volunteers have planted more than 8000 trees in public rights-of-way, medians, and parks at a value of over $1 million.
Previous Trees Across Raleigh plantings have improved the appearance of Glenwood Avenue near Five Points, New Bern Avenue near Wake Medical Center, Millbrook Exchange Park, Chavis Park, Marsh Creek Park, Method Road Park, and Biltmore Park.
Participants for the fall planting at both locations should wear old clothes and be prepared to work. Tools will be provided, along with snacks.
For more information visit www.treesacrossraleigh.com or contact Lidah Saylor: saylornut@earthlink.net.
About Trees Across Raleigh:
Trees Across Raleigh was first launched in June 1996, after Hurricane Fran destroyed so many of the city’s trees. Trees Across Raleigh also offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to Adopt-a-Tree and help with the planting efforts by purchasing an individual tree ($125), by donating money to buy planting equipment, or volunteering to help plant trees. To make a tax deductible donation please contact: Trees Across Raleigh, Inc., PO Box 6488, Raleigh, NC, 27628. Donations are tax deductible. For more information, visit www.treesacrossraleigh.com.
posted by blueplate pr
Charleston Architect Serves On AIA/Tennessee Awards Jury
August 24, 2009 at 5:49 pm | In architecture, green architecture, historic preservation, land planning | Leave a CommentTags: AIA/Tennessee, Charleston architects, green architects, LEED
Whitney Powers, AIA
August 24, 2009 (MEMPHIS, TN) — South Carolina architect Whitney Powers, AIA, principal and president of the award-winning firm Studio A, Inc., in Charleston, was among the jurors who recently selected nine award winners out of 97 entries during the American Institute of Architects/Tennessee’s 2009 Design Awards program.
A LEED-certified practitioner, Powers brought her expertise in sustainable architecture to bear on the jury proceedings, as well as her experience in adaptive reuse of existing buildings and restoration/preservation of historic structures.
AIA/Tennessee includes over 1000 members from small to large architectural firms and working within university, government and industry settings. The annual design awards program recognizes Tennessee architects’ design contributions and promotes awareness of the value of architecture in the state.
Projects submitted represented new construction, renovation/restoration, and architectural interior design.
All of the judges for the 2009 program are based in Charleston, SC. Joining Powers on the jury were Ray Huff, Thompson Penney, FAIA, and Brian T. Hurst. The judging took place in Charleston.
For more information on the AIA/Tennessee award winners, go to www.aia/tn.org.
For more information on Whitney Powers, visit www.studioa-architecture.com.
About Studio A, Inc.
Founded by Whitney Powers, AIA, Studio A, Inc., is an award-winning, full-service architecture firm located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, specializing in sustainable, “green” architecture and historic preservation/adaptive re-use. From cutting-edge, contemporary architecture to the preservation and restoration of historic homes and sites, Studio A is committed to an interactive relationship between the natural and built environments. The firm includes Heritage Strategy Group, a planning initiative headed by Edwin Gardner that develops recreational areas and scenic byways so that local businesses prosper while the natural, historical and cultural heritage of the effected area are preserved and enhanced.
Landscape Architect Dick Bell Launches New, Informative Blog
June 25, 2009 at 10:42 pm | In environmentalism, environmentalist, green architecture, land planning, landscape architecture | 1 CommentTags: American Society of Landscape Architects, landscape architect, landscape architecture, Prix de Rome
The pond at Dick Bell's "Water Garden"
June 25, 2009 (ATLANTIC BEACH, NC) – Richard C. Bell, a master landscape architect who spent nearly all of his illustrious career in Raleigh before relocating last year to Atlantic Beach, has launched a new blog that offers a glimpse into the man and mind behind some of North Carolina’s most iconic landmarks.
Among Bell’s best known projects are NC State University’s “Brickyard” and Sculpture Garden plazas, the City of Raleigh’s Pullen Park, the Meredith College Amphitheater, St. Mary’s College soccer field and brick fencing, and The Water Garden, Raleigh’s first mixed-use development on Glenwood Avenue/Highway 70 West that combined offices and residents and served as a laboratory for his experiments on planting materials and landscape design.
Entitled “Pebbles In The Pond: News & Musings by Landscape Architect Dick Bell,” the new blog gives Bell a repository for his knowledge of the profession, of environmental design and sustainability, and of the history of the profession in North Carolina. The blog is located at: dickbell.wordpress.com.
“Pebbles In The Pond” also includes news Bell has generated over recent years, such as his induction into the Raleigh Hall of Fame. Links also take visitors to articles on Bell and his work that have been published in the media.
Dick Bell has completed over 2000 landscape architecture projects. He has designed everything from major city and highway corridors to city parks, university plazas and amphitheatres, mixed-use beachfront developments, and individual residences, and he was a recognized leader in environmentalism and sustainable design long before the words became part of the general lexicon.
A native of Manteo, NC, Dick Bell was educated at the North Carolina State University School of Design, graduating in 1950 as part of Dean Henry Kamphoefner’s first class of 15 architects and four landscape architects. At the age of 21, he was the youngest designer to receive the Prix de Rome, which allowed him to travel and study in Europe for two years. He founded his first firm in Raleigh, NC, in 1955, introducing the practice of landscape architecture as a registered profession to the state. He was also the first person elected to the registration board.
Dick Bell, FASLA, FAAR
Bell is a Fellow of both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Academy in Rome and has received 27 honor awards for his work. To view his new blog, go to dickbell.wordpress.com.
posted by blueplate pr
“Green” Architects To Participate In Educational Event at Prairie Ridge Eco-Station
May 11, 2009 at 3:13 pm | In education, environmentalism, environmentalist, green architecture, land planning | Leave a CommentTags: environmentalism, green architecture, natural resources Raleigh, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Prairie Ridge Eco-Station
Prairie Ridge Outdoor Classroom
May 11, 2009 (RALEIGH, NC) – Will Lambeth and Tim Martin, architectural interns at Frank Harmon Architect PA in Raleigh, will be on hand at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Prairie Ridge Eco-Station in Raleigh on Thursday, May 14, to help the middle- and high-school members of the Citizen Science Investigators Club discover what makes a building “green.”
Prairie Ridge is a hands-on teaching and extension project located on a diverse 38-acre site on the edge of Raleigh. Its mission is to educating North Carolinians of all ages about the natural sciences and the importance of environmental stewardship. and demonstrate how architecture can enhance the natural environment.
Lambeth and Martin will discuss the many sustainable features of Prairie Ridge’s award-winning “Outdoor Classroom,” which was designed by Frank Harmon’s firm not only to provide a learning space at the eco-station but also to demonstrate environmental sustainability through its design and construction.
The interns will help the club’s students understand how architecture can tread lightly on the natural environment and conserve energy in the process.
Among the many “green” features of the classroom, including construction materials, Lambeth and Martin will discuss Harmon’s decision about site orientation and how that impacted the classroom’s eco-friendly design. They will note that the wooden building’s heavy, south-facing overhang maximizes sun exposure in winter and creates shade in summer. Along with the screened walls, this orientation catches year-round southwesterly breezes. Together, these design elements conserve an enormous amount of energy normally used for lighting and HVAC systems.
Prairie Ridge sponsors the Citizen Science Investigators Club with middle and high school students. According to Brian F. Hahn, a natural resource specialist at Prairie Ridge, the students are very interested in green technology so that will be the total focus of the May 14 session. The architectural interns’ presence “will also expose the students to other career opportunities they may be interested in,” he added.
Entrance to the open-air Outdoor Classroom at Prairie Ridge
For more information on the Prairie Ridge Eco-Station, go to www.naturalsciences.org/prairie-ridge-ecostation.
The Outdoor Classroom has received two design awards and has been featured in two national architectural journals. For more information on the project and on Frank Harmon Architect PA, visit www.frankharmon.com.
posted by blueplatepr
Recreation Planners Use Technology To Get Public Participation
April 9, 2009 at 8:54 pm | In environmentalism, environmentalist, historic preservation, land planning, news | Leave a CommentTags: conservation, development, heritage, planning, preservation, recreation
April 9, 2009 (CHARLESTON, SC) — “A 21st century way to engage the public directly in recreation and conservation decisions” – that’s how planner Edwin S. Gardner of Heritage Strategy Group describes the approach he and his team are taking to make sure the public is keenly involved in the 2010-2020 Tennessee State Recreation Plan.
“Using the new website SurveyMonkey.com, we’re now able to reach the public in ways that were impossible five years ago,” Gardner said, “and it isn’t costing the State a dime to do it.”
Heritage Strategy Group, a subsidiary of the architectural firm Studio A, Inc., in Charleston, South Carolina, recently received the contract for the state of Tennessee’s new Recreation Plan that will identify needs and issues and guide recreation and conservation policies in Tennessee for the next decade.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is holding a series of public meetings this month to get input into the plan that will guide the State’s recreation and conservation policies for the next 10 years.
To bring 21st century technology into the process, Gardner and Dr. Mark Fly, director of the University of Tennessee Human Dimensions Lab, are posting the same public-opinion survey online that meeting attendees will receive.
The survey will be available soon on the Tennessee Department of Conservation and Environment website (www.tennessee.gov/environment/recreation/plan) “so we can hear from people all over the state, not just those who make it to one of the meetings,” Gardner said. “This should generate a far greater response than we’ve ever had before.”
Making the survey available online is “a big first for Tennessee,” noted Gardner, who served as conservation and preservation planner for that state’s 2003 Recreation Plan, which the National Park Service cited as one of the nation’s best and “a model for other states to follow.”
Using technology to reach more people “is part of our firm’s intention to use every available method to generate as much public participation in this planning process as possible,” Gardner said. “We’re certain that the more Tennesseans we get involved in the decision-making process, the more accurate, responsive, and effective the eventual plan is going to be.”
The new Recreation Plan will include the state’s 2020 Land and Water “Vision Plan” as well as the five-year Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). The SCORP is a federally mandated program that makes states eligible to receive federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grants through the National Park Service for acquiring, developing, and renovating outdoor recreation facilities.
Gardner and his team intend to publicize the survey throughout the state, to ask meeting attendees to send the link to their friends, and to ask recreation-related organizations to send the link to their members. They hope to get over 5000 responses.
Consultants on the Tennessee State Recreation Plan include Barge Waggoner of Sumner & Cannon in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the Human Dimensions Research Lab at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.
The public meetings are being held in Farragut, Chattanooga, Jackson, and Murfreesboro. The new Recreation Plan should be completed by August 2009, Gardner said. The National Park Service’s approval is expected by the end of the year.
Edwin Gardner recently created a blog — http://heritagestrategy.wordpress.com — as an addendum to Studio A’s website (www.studioa-architecture) to more fully describe the work of a heritage planner and the impact such planning has on all forms of conservation.
The 2003-2008 plan is currently available at www.tennessee.gov/environment/recreation/plan. The survey for the 2010-2020 plan will be available at that site soon.
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