Center for Discovery

The Center for Discovery is a specialized facility for the advanced care and treatment of children and adults with significant disabilities, medical complexities and autism spectrum disorders. The site masterplan developed by Dirtworks supports the Center for Discovery’s mission of enriching individual lives through personal accomplishment by providing spaces for education, training, equestrian therapy, food production, and pedestrian circulation.

The facility was built on the grounds of a former industrial agriculture site. By reusing this brownfield, the project preserved nearby nearby farmland and reclaimed previously damaged landscapes. With native trees, shrubs, and grasses supplementing the site’s existing biodiversity, the surrounding landscape is now used for farming and grazing, right to the facility’s doorstep. Bioswales are incorporated in the parking lot, providing an economical and environmentally friendly way to manage parking lot run-off. Dirtworks has continued to provide masterplanning and professional services on a variety of the Center’s projects including the development of sustainable maintenance protocols.

The Health Center, a 27,000 square-foot diagnostic and treatment facility, was the first licensed medical facility in New York State to implement green building standards which met Department of Health requirements. The Carrus Insitutute is a certified training facility, designed to instruct professionals who assist in the treatment and education for those with autism spectrum disorders.

Location
Harris, NY

Completion
2005

Size
350 acres

Collaborators
Perkins + Will

Recognition
LEED Silver