The 13th Living Building in the world bringing children to nature to educate and inspire
The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Environmental Center is an education, training, and events building at Hard Bargain Farm, a renowned environmental center on a 330-acre site along the Potomac River. Certified as the 13th living building in the world, the Cafritz Center has verified its net-zero energy performance and net-zero water performance, along with other measures of site sustainability, equity, health, and beauty. Challenging site conditions encouraged the design team to look to nature for design solutions to address abundant groundwater and sub-par solar access. As a result, the Center was conceived as an elongated blade of grass nestled on a woodland edge. The building is designed to be ‘sailed’ by occupants to take advantage of daylight, breezes, views, and indoor-outdoor gathering spaces.
– Tracy Bowen, former Executive Director, Alice Ferguson Foundation