Living Building Photo Gallery
Welcome to our photo gallery with a summary of images of the building project. Check back regularly for updates to this page as we build!
For additional images, please visit:
- project blog feed
- project video footage
- Winter Vacation Campers explore a wetland from the new wetland crossing.
- Drive Green event showcasing electric cars, incentives available for purchasing these cars, and owners sharing their experiences.
- In partnership with the Valley Environmental Education Collaborative (VEEC) we organized to bring an award-winning program, Widening the Circle: Making the Great Outdoors Accessible, to the Center.
- In partnership with the Valley Environmental Education Collaborative (VEEC) we organized to bring an award-winning program, Widening the Circle: Making the Great Outdoors Accessible, to the Center.
- In partnership with the Valley Environmental Education Collaborative (VEEC) we organized to bring an award-winning program, Widening the Circle: Making the Great Outdoors Accessible, to the Center.
- In partnership with the Valley Environmental Education Collaborative (VEEC) we organized to bring an award-winning program, Widening the Circle: Making the Great Outdoors Accessible, to the Center.
- Community program on screech owls. Attendees were able to build nesting boxes to take home.
- Community program on screech owls. Attendees were able to build nesting boxes to take home.
- Children, Youth and Family programs.
- Community Programs
- Enjoying the basking builder in our Visitor Center.
- A family making use of learning tools in our Visitor Center.
- What’s in the drawers? Exploring in our our Visitor Center.
- Exploring in our Visitor Center.
- At our new home, we catch the site of the evening sun glowing on the Pelham hills.
- In October, we decorated the building with all the beautiful pumpkins that our community had carved for our annual Enchanted Forest event.
- Cutting the ribbon!
- The next generation ready to explore our building!
- Guests capture the historic grand opening celebration.
- Families gathered during our grand opening.
- Executive Director Julie Johnson welcomes guests to our Grand Opening.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Volunteers help provide water and snacks as we migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Hitchcock Center boar member Merle Bruno prominently displays her salamander during the migration from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Hitchcock Educator, Patrick O’Roark, strikes a rhythm as we migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Naturalist Ted Watt serves as crossing guard as we migrate from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- Migration time! Families, community members and staff migrated from the old Hitchcock Center to the new.
- A NESEA ProTour, including participants from MA, NH, VT, NY, and CT, tours the building.
- Executive Director Julie Johnson, introducing the Welcome Wall, ecological principles, and glyphs to visitors.
- North hallway with cubbies for children’s belongings.
- What is the first flush and how does it work within our drinking water system?
- EnnisArt completes the Connecticut River watershed in our Ecotone.
- The bike pavilion nearly complete.
- Visitor’s chat on our oak benches, harvested from the site.
- Completed watershed map.
- Our watershed map, during installation.
- Our watershed map during installation.
- How was the salamander, representing our location in the watershed map, designed?
- The artistic process of creating our watershed map.
- The artistic process of creating our watershed map.
- This space will soon be office space for all the Hitchcock Center staff.
- Cedar siding.
- Cedar siding.
- The new home of the Hitchcock Center for the Environmen. Construction is nearing completion on the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst. Jessica Schultz
- Decomposed granite forms the top layer of the accessible walkways around our center.
- Cedar siding is being installed.
- Sorting of construction waste happens on site.
- Space for the water system.
- One of two Clivus composters in the basement.
- Adam Heintz of PV Squared helps him team install SunPower solar panels.
- Exterior cedar is stained with a Penofin Verde finish.
- A portion of our greywater system is installed.
- Door frames.
- Oak benches, milled from trees on site.
- Tongue and groove pine.
- HVAC system.
- Duct work ready for installation.
- Air recovery ventilator.
- Framed wondiws along the north wall of the south wing.
- Basking rock.
- The Nepon toilets wait to be unpacked.
- Windows awaiting installation.
- Balloons to allow for expansion and contraction of window gases during shipping.
- Composters wait for installation in the basement.
- Sheathing layers.
- View of the sheathing after the plywood installation.
- Roof sheathing installed on the South wing.
- Trusses installed on the South wing.
- Timber framing and wall sheathing along the North wall of the North wing.
- Our water reservoir.
- Our water reservoir.
- Timber frame walls of the South wing.
- Timber frame walls of the North wing.
- Precise fitting of the timber frame.
- Gently encouraging the timber frame into place.
- Building the timber frame.
- Timber framing prep work.
- Timber framing begins.
- The concrete slab on the North wing begins to cure.
- Smoothing the concrete slab.
- Concrete for the slab on the North Wing is poured.
- We’re building under a rainbow!
- A double layer of rigid styrofoam insulation is laid throughout the foundation.
- Our first moment inside the building – our basement!
- Electrical conduit is installed by Crocker Communications and located in wall partitions.
- Heading into the basement!
- HDPE electrical conduit installed.
- Stairway installed to basement and steel support decking installed to support slab over basement.
- Foundation walls for the constructed wetland .
- Concrete is poured for the constructed wetland.
- Rear wall of large classrooms is complete and soil is back filled against it.
- Grey water tank installed in the basement.
- Waterproofing and insulation along the foundation wall of the north wing.
- Foundation of south wing.
- Foundation and insulation of south wing.
- Hitchcock Executive Director Julie Johnson discusses the Living Building Challenge during a monthly “living” building site tour.
- Mark Ledwell of Wright Builders and Sam Batchelor of designLab Architects discusses plan specifics with two subcontractors.
- Participants gather for a project over view of the Hitchcock Center’s “living” building project during a NESEA Pro Tour.
- Mark Ledwell of Wright Builders discusses the project during a NESEA Pro Tour.
- Sam Batchelor of designLAB Architects discusses the project during a NESEA Pro Tour.
- Close up of the foundation wall.
- Foundation wall in the north wing.
- Foundation wall on the south wing (outside our office area).
- Footings stepping down to accomodate the basement.
- Concrete is poured for footings in the south wing.
- Frames for footings in the basement.
- Foundation frames.
- Preparation for the footing and foundation work.
- Site work is underway.
- Members of our project team including: Site Foreman Jim Small of Wright Builders, Greg Tuzzolo of Stephen Stimson Associates, and Sam Batchelor of designLAB Architects review plans on site before work begins.
- Breaking ground: Julie Johnson, Executive Director Hitchcock Center; Judith Judson, Commissioner, MA Dept. of Energy Resources; Annie Leonard, Hitchcock Center Board member and Parent; Hannah French, Hitchcock Center intern and UMass student; Jaana Cutson, Hitchcock Center Board President; Stan Rosenberg, MA State Senate President; Jonathan Lash, President, Hampshire College
- Breaking ground: Greg Tuzzolo, Stephen Stimson Associate; Chris Chamberland, Berkshire Design Group; Kelly Ard Haigh and Sam Batchelor, designLAB Architects.
- Stan Rosenberg, President, Massachusetts State Senate
- Ellen Story, Massachusetts State Representative 3rd District Hampshire County at our groundbreaking.
- The community gathers for our groundbreaking.
- Groundbreaking!