COA Davis Center wins architectural award

The College of the Atlantic Davis Center for Human Ecology, designed collaboratively by architects Susan T. Rodriguez and OPAL, is awarded for its outstanding design by the American Institute of Architects.
Credit: Trent Bell

The AIA cites the building’s sustainable design and thoughtful approach to the unique ecology of the site. A collaboration between New York-based Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture • Design and Maine-based OPAL, the design draws inspiration from COA’s environmentally focused, interdisciplinary curriculum, the history and ecology of its oceanfront campus on Mount Desert Island, and its #1 Green College ranking by the Princeton Review.

“As a whole, the center’s design is reflective of the college’s unique character and culture, both defined by simplicity, pragmatism, and a commitment to foregrounding the natural world,” AIA officials state. ‘Weaving together the study of human ecology and environmental sustainability, it stands as a dynamic academic venue that amplifies immersive learning experiences at the intersection of land and sea.”

From its perch on a rocky promontory along the rugged coastline, the building was inspired by COA’s focus on experiential engagement with the natural world. Founded in 1969, the college was the first in the nation with a vision centered on the holistic study of humans’ relationship with the environment. The design for the Center for Human Ecology broadcasts the college’s mission and commitment to stewardship while also heightening awareness of the site’s unique ecology.

Photovoltaic panels atop the COA Davis Center for Human Ecology are part of a larger palette of energy features that help the facility meet stringent Passive House standards.
Credit: Trent BellThe center’s overall configuration frames a new campus landscape, protecting the space from the prevailing and harsh ocean winds and optimizing solar gains to mitigate heating demands prompted by the region’s long, dark winters. A series of spatial cuts through the building offer views of the college’s namesake Atlantic Ocean, allowing its interior spaces to connect directly with the inspiring coastline.

It features a network of functional and flexible spaces, including art studios, laboratories, research spaces, and a greenhouse. Faculty offices and multipurpose classroom spaces for lectures and exhibitions underscore a learning community free of departmental divisions. The center also includes generous public spaces that allow it to host public programs throughout the year.

Sited on a bluff overlooking Frenchman Bay, the building extends an existing campus-wide spine of circulation and gathering spaces northward, toward the shoreline. Powered by COA’s dedication to sustainability and building performance, the Davis Center sets a new benchmark for future-oriented academic buildings in far northern climates.

• The building meets the newly released national definition for Zero Emissions Buildings, or ZEB, a Biden-Harris Administration initiative which OPAL Management Partner, Timothy Lock, collaborated on and helped facilitate.
• Designed to the stringent German Passive House standard of energy efficiency and indoor air quality, it consumes 90 percent less energy than a comparable code-compliant building.
• Passive solar gain from south-facing glass mitigates heating demand during Maine’s long, cold winters. A high-capacity energy recovery ventilation system provides a constant flow of tempered fresh air.
• The design extensively uses low-embodied carbon and locally sourced materials—including a nearly all-wood structure and wood fiber insulation—which radically reduce its lifecycle carbon footprint, effectively neutralizing the environmental impact of its construction.
• The building accommodates art studios, offices, teaching and collaboration spaces, science labs, and a greenhouse for programming in zoology, botany, chemistry, geology, general science, fine art, and media.
• The building design maximizes views of the ocean and frames an open green used for ceremonies and outdoor activities.

The COA Davis Center for Human Ecology is the recipient of an AIA Maine Honor Award for excellence in architecture.“The building represents a new milestone for what is possible within the context of ecological building design, and will set a new benchmark both within our practice, and now with this acknowledgement, across the country,” said OPAL Management Partner Timothy Lock. “Academic buildings, particularly those with labs, tend to be thought of as energy hogs that cannot be avoided, and this is anything but. Additionally, this is a huge moment for Maine architecture and design, for this project to be recognized at this level.”

A second building designed by OPAL for College of the Atlantic, a new student housing building, has just been completed this spring on campus. The new Collins House residence hall includes 46 beds for students, and continues the legacy of the highest standards of efficiency and ecological design on the COA campus. The new dormitory is built from a biogenic mass timber structure, paired with wood infill walls, and wood fiber insulation; the all-wood assembly sequesters biogenic carbon while performing at Passive House level energy, upholding the highest standards of sustainability.