Woods Hole Research Center's Gilman Ordway Campus participates in annual Green Building Open House

The Woods Hole Research Center's high-performance building with roof-mounted photovoltaic panels (photo credit - Chris Benton).

On Saturday, October 6, the Woods Hole Research Center will offer tours of its building as part of the Green Buildings Open House, presented by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and coordinated for Cape Cod by Cape and Islands Self-Reliance Corp. The Center, located at 149 Woods Hole Road, will be open from 11 AM – 2 PM.

The Center’s building was completed in 2003 and is an extremely energy efficient, high performance facility, operating without the combustion of fossil fuels onsite. The building also features recycled and FSC certified interior and exterior wood, double and triple glazed windows, and non-toxic paints and finishes. The building received a first prize in the 2004 Northeast Green Building Award, given by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), in the “places of work (small buildings)” category. In recognition of Earth Day 2004, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) cited the Ordway Campus as one of the nation’s ten best examples of “green design” in the AIA/COTE 2004 Top Ten Green Projects competition

The Woods Hole Research Center is dedicated to science, education and public policy for a habitable Earth, seeking to conserve and sustain forests, soils, water, and energy by demonstrating their value to human health and economic prosperity. The Center has initiatives in the Amazon, the Arctic, Africa, Russia, Asia, Boreal North America, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England including Cape Cod. Center programs focus on the global carbon cycle, forest function, landcover/land use, water cycles and chemicals in the environment, science in public affairs, and education.

For more information about the Woods Hole Research Center, please call 508 548 9900.

In addition to the Center, several Cape, Islands and surrounding area green buildings will be open to visitors for the event. The Solar Homes/Green Building Open House will offer visitors the opportunity to tour a variety of unique properties, which utilize renewable energy resources and demonstrate environmentally friendly design.  Please visit www.nesea.org for directions, times, and special considerations.