The interpretive nature center teaches environmental stewardship and Zero Energy strategies.
HGA has won an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE®) Top Ten Award for Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The architecture industry’s highest honor for sustainable design, the COTE® Top Ten Awards program honors projects for their significant achievements integrating design excellence with environmental performance.
“This award recognizes the City of St. Louis Park’s commitment to environment stewardship and connecting people with nature,” said Marc L’Italien, FAIA, DBIA, LEED AP, Design Principal at HGA. “The city envisioned this building as an integral part of its conservation mission enhancing residential, commercial, and public spaces. Sustainability literally shaped every aspect of the building to create a community destination that promotes life-long environmental learning and engagement.”
HGA worked with the City of St. Louis Park and allied partners to design the Net Zero Energy / Net Zero Positive building as an educational teaching tool, demonstrating passive and active strategies for energy efficiency and sustainability.
Located on a 160-acre park featuring prairie, forest, and marshes surrounding a lake, the Nature Center is an interpretive retreat in the heart of the city. The core of the building is a series of multipurpose rooms used for environmental learning classrooms and public events. The program also includes exhibits highlighting Minnesota landscape and wildlife habitats, community spaces, outdoor classroom, staff office and support spaces, conference room, and adjacent raptor mews.
Noteworthy, the Nature Center’s flexibility and loose fit offered safe respite for visitors when it opened mid-pandemic—a rare opportunity to welcome people at the time.
One hundred percent of the Nature Center’s annual energy needs are supplied by on-site renewable sources, exceeding benchmarks established by the city’s Green Building Program and Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. In addition to passive design strategies, the team utilized low-carbon mass timber construction, geothermal heat pump, energy-efficient LED lighting, and rooftop photovoltaic panels, among other features, that contribute to sustainable goals.
“St. Louis Park has a long history of promoting policies that ensure a bright, equitable future for its residents,” said Glenn Waguespack, AIA, Design Principal at HGA. “Westwood Hills Nature Center reflects the city’s character in its vision and design—a resilient example of a sustainable future that inspires the community.”
For more information, visit AIA COTE Top Ten Awards.
Westwood Hills Video Tour
To learn more about Westwood Hills Nature Center, view our video.
Award-Winning Design
Westwood Hills Nature Center has won multiple awards for design and sustainability, including:
- American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE®) Top Ten Award (2023)
- American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) – Technology Award (2022)
- League of Minnesota Cities/Green Step Cities – Sustainable City Award (2021)
- National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) – Innovation in Park Design Award (2021)
- Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), District of Columbia Chapter – Illumination Award – Honorable Mention (2021)
- Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) – Illumination Award of Merit (2021)
- International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Northland Chapter – FAB Awards for Storytelling & Community/Civic Projects (2021)
- American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Region VI – 1st Place Technology Award (2021)
- American Institute of Architects (AIA) San Francisco Chapter – Architecture Merit Award (2021)
- Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) – Professional Project Awards of Merit for Structural Systems Design, Mechanical Systems Design, and Architectural Engineering Integration (2021)
- Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Women (MNCREW) – Award for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability (2020)
- American Institute of Architects (AIA) Minnesota – Honor Award (2020)