Berks County Community Foundation

Reading, Pennsylvania

Community-focused LEED Platinum office building

Three big ideas:

Community-engaged,
Flexible,
Educational

Berks County Community Foundation (BCCF) transformed a parking lot on a prominent street corner into a vibrant gathering space with foundation offices, community conference center, and tenant spaces for other non-profits. With the intent of inspiring others to build more sustainably, BCCF challenged the team to set an example of environmental stewardship that is both visually compelling and economically defensible. Significant public participation, including a week-long design charrette, was used to build support for the project and meet the needs of a diverse community. Within the building, visitors delight in seeing green roof terraces, a winding central stair made of wood reclaimed from the Coney Island Pier, and stormwater flowing through a clear pillar on its way to a cistern for re-use.

The main training room opens wide to the lobby when not in use adding to the open and inviting space.

The training room features a daylight harvesting system and also utilizes energy efficient duct-socks for air distribution.

Fast Facts

4,000 sf of dedicated community programming space

Skewed building orientation optimizes passive solar heat gain

Rainwater harvesting of roof drainage and HVAC condensate for toilet flushing

Wood stairs salvaged from Coney Island pier

LEED NC Platinum

Design Award of Honor, PA Council Society of American Registered Architects

““Re:Vision was very helpful on identifying funding sources and they were very sensitive to opportunities to make the building economically viable within our quality demands...and I can tell you that the results are great. We are convinced that even our "Platinum" status did not add construction costs. That means that the 43% energy savings and 85% water savings are just ours for the keeping.” ”

– Kevin Murphy, President of BCCF

The new construction multi-tenant office building was built on an abandoned site and uses brick that matches local historic buildings.

Project Gallery

The stair tower is naturally daylit by clerestory windows reducing energy use and increasing the quality of the space.

The stair is crafted from locally fabricated steel and salvaged wood from the Coney Island Pier.

Educational signage about sustainable strategies is woven throughout the building. This clear pipe showcases rainwater or rooftop unit condensate as it flows through the building to a cistern for reuse.

A "truth window" reveals the radiant heating tubing which runs through the concrete floor slabs.

The main reception features salvaged and upcycled materials as well as prominently placed stair to encourage walking instead of elevator use.

The main training room opens wide to the lobby when not in use adding to the open and inviting space.

The training room features a daylight harvesting system and also utilizes energy efficient duct-socks for air distribution.

The new construction multi-tenant office building was built on an abandoned site and uses brick that matches local historic buildings.

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