Aldo Leopold Legacy Center Wins FSC Award

By GreenerBuildings Staff
Published November 6, 2007

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CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Forest Stewardship Council certified 78 percent of the wood used to build the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wis. Ninety-two percent of that wood was locally processed and harvested on site.

The Forest Stewardship Council-U.S. will honor the project Thursday with its third annual Designing and Building with FSC Award at the 2007 GreenBuild conference and expo in Chicago. It is one of a slew of announcements, honors and ceremonies taking place at the behemoth conference hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council.

In addition to exhibits, product showcases and educational workshops, high-profile speakers, such as former President Bill Clinton, will address attendees. The USGBC expects attendance to top 20,000.

The Aldo Leopold Legacy Center is carbon neutral and LEED-Platinum certified. The Kubala-Washatko Architects and Boldt Construction served as architect and engineer, and general contractor, respectively.

They used trees to build the center that were planted in the 1930s and 1940s by Aldo Leopold and his family. Leopold, a prominent figure in wildlife ecology and management around this time, planted thousands of pine trees.

Some of the trees were used for the columns and beams of the building's interior skeleton, as well as for porch decking, siding, window frames, chairs, book shelves and cabinets.

"The Aldo Leopold Legacy Center is built from wood harvested from our land, and FSC certification provided an important level of oversight and critical review during our effort to responsibly integrate the stewardship of our land with the construction of the Legacy Center," said Buddy Huffaker, the foundation's executive director.

The FSC-US named Dovetail Partners Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., the year's Honorable Mention with its Aitkin House. The single family home in Aitkin, Minn., used 67 percent FSC-certified wood as part of their Eco-Affordable program. The 1,300 square-foot home also features a passive solar design, energy-efficient appliances and in-floor radiant heating.