T he Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, a new museum complex in Tupper Lake, N.Y., became the first LEED-certified museum in New York when the project earned LEED Silver recently. Designed by HOK and Phinney Design Group, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the 54,000-sf facility is clad with white pine exterior siding harvested and milled in Tupper Lake and with stone from quarries in the park. A three-acre pond provides a backdrop for the building and creates an indigenous wetland that attracts birds, amphibians, small mammals, and insects that can be viewed from close range. The pond also manages the site's stormwater and water discharge from exhibits. A well-insulated building envelope, low-VOC materials, efficient air filtration, air quality monitoring, and a digitally controlled building management system combine to create a productive, healthy indoor environment. About 10% of the museum's power comes from a 40kW photovoltaic array on the roof of an adjacent building.
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