New Frick Environmental Center a Means to an End

NEXTpittsburgh

Since a 2002 fire destroyed the old building, the Frick Environmental Center has been reduced to a trailer where Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy employees convene environmental education classes.

Yesterday, after 12 years of planning, concrete was poured for the foundation of a new $18 million building. Designed to LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge specifications, the center will be a living-learning laboratory for city residents.

Located just off Beechwood Boulevard, shielded from the road by the last of the autumn leaves and a mountain of dirt, is a giant hole where the center will soon be. The new vertical building will add about 9,000 square-feet of usable space to the former structure’s 6,000 square feet. The center won’t be an isolated structure, but part of an entire ecosystem. Read full article