Queens Botanical Garden Education Center

The Queens Botanical Garden (QBG) is a nexus of botanical and cultural exploration for the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the country, Queens, NY. The new QBG Education Building is designed to support the educational mission of the Garden, by making environmental stewardship tangible to all visitors -with its emphasis on passive design strategies, integration with the landscape, and celebration of indoor/outdoor placemaking. The program includes classrooms, a teaching solarium, a demonstration kitchen, offices as well as new demonstration gardens.

The project is sited at the western edge of the Garden, bounded by a hill to the north and a flat woodland/ meadow to the south. A working farm and orchard bound the site to the east and west. The site was selected to create a connection between these landscapes while reactivating the Garden’s edge – providing a destination for events and programs.

The proposed design, a linear building which runs parallel to the hill, uses the hillside topography to create a natural enclosure and amphitheater condition, which serves as a backdrop to the classroom wing of the building. A circulation spine or porch, connecting the classrooms features oversized glass bi-fold doors to allow the building to be fully open to the hillside on temperate days. New rain gardens at the base of the hill provide lessons on stormwater management in a site that is vulnerable to flooding. A large sheltering green roof, marks the building entrance, creating a second outdoor room that serves as a place of welcome and gathering.

The building features LVL wood structure and is clad in Accoya, selected for its durability while being a low impact material. The wood highlights the beauty of the natural material, on the underside of the canopy, while the dark wood cladding will serve as a backdrop for colorful pollinator gardens located at the building base. Colorful interiors, particularly at the building entrance, are selected to create a legible and welcoming presence for the building at this part of the Garden.

The building is designed to be net-zero ready and is on target for LEED Platinum certification.