ecological form         

By integrating nature and minimalism into their work, hanrahan Meyers architects (hMa) accomplish the most with the least means: extensive natural light, buildings set within the natural topography of the site, and energy supplied using locally available renewable energy sources and materials.  hMa’s practice began when partners Victoria Meyers and Thomas Hanrahan came to international attention after designing the winning entry in the design competition for Chattanooga Nature Interpretive Center.  hMa’s winning entry was arguably the first Green museum in the world (with a zero-carbon footprint), and set the tone for their practice and their ongoing dialogue between nature, art, and minimalism.

BATTERY PARK CITY COMMUNITY CENTER RENDERING BY BHCH, LLC
NEW YORK, NY

Above is hMa’s design for a new Platinum LEED Community Center –  the ‘Digital Water Pavilion’ –  for Battery Park City, in New York. The project is in construction and scheduled for completion in January 2012.  Since 1996, hMa have been the Master Plan architects for Battery Park City’s North Neighborhood.  hMa wrote all of the Green Guidelines for the North Neighborhood buildings, streets, and parks. hMa’s work as the BPC Master Plan Architects has been recognized through awards and publications for their extraordinary efforts in creating a cutting-edge Green urban environment.  At Battery Park City, New Yorkers  live in state-of-the-art Green Buildings and experience Nature in acres of sustainably planted and maintained Green Streets and Parks.  In June, 2010, Battery Park City’s North Neighborhood was selected to receive a 2010 Heritage Award from the Urban Land Institute in recogntition of the project’s extraordinary contribution to the movement toward creating Green environments in the United States and worldwide.  Urban Land Instititute also gave a Design Honor Award to the Visionaire, a Platinum LEED residential tower, where hMa wrote the Green design guidelines.

CHATTANOOGA NATURE INTERPRETIVE CENTER MODEL PHOTOGRAPH BY ESTO

Chattanooga Nature Interpretive Center was one of hMa’s earliest projects, and gave the firm international attention in 1987.  The project featured a large Solar Panel array which doubled as the building’s entry canopy.  The building incorporated wind turbines and geo-thermal heat and cooling, and created ‘Zero Carbon Footprint’ on its site.  hMa’s Chattanooga Nature Interpretive Center was arguably the world’s first Green museum.

DUNE HOUSE

Dune House is a ‘Zero Carbon Footprint’ house hMa designed for clients on an ecologically sensitive site in East Hampton, New York.  The house featured Solar Panels to reduce electrical loads so that the house used less electricity than it generated.  All materials specified for the house were recycled or FSC wood.  The house used state-of-the-art Water Recycling technologies, with low flush toilets, washing machines, and faucets.  Grey water from the house was recycled for toilet flushes and site irrigation.  The house was designed to have a ‘zero carbon footprint’ on its site.

To read more about hMa and their ecologically sensitive solutions to design, visit their website: www.hanrahanmeyers.com, and visit our ‘Green’ section, under ‘Projects’.