Joppa Flats Education Center
Newburyport, Massachusetts

As part of Massachusetts Audubon Society's goal to provide environmental programs throughout the state, the Society purchased a prominent site along the Merrimack River for an education center and to preserve public access to a world-renowned birding site.

Black River Architects began by developing a spatial program for the building and identifying the opportunities presented by the site. We then developed a design that employed traditional forms within a freer, more contemporary composition. The building contains a birding blind, an outdoor viewing deck overlooking reclaimed wetlands, a divisible classroom, an exhibit space and offices. Renewable and sustainable building materials and construction techniques were used throughout the project.