Shelly Ridge Girl Scout Center

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson provided programming, master planning, site development, and architectural design services for this Girl Scouts' activity center located in a nature preserve on the northern border of Philadelphia. Included are a caretaker's residence, two service buildings, roads and site utilities, a swimming complex, and a Program Center Building.

Both the design and the construction of the Program Center received assistance from the United States Department of Energy under a Passive Solar Commercial Buildings' Demonstration Program grant. The design of the building features a solar wall, which integrates both direct and indirect thermal gain, and forms the south side of the main assembly space. Direct solar heat is captured by the concrete floor and a semicircular brick wall, which also separates the lobby from the assembly space. Solar energy satisfies about half of the building's heating, lighting and domestic hot water needs.

A full program of building monitoring and evaluation was undertaken as part of the Department of Energy grant program. These findings were then reported and summarized for DOE and subsequently published and made available to the public. The project has received high honors for its innovative design. These include a national award from The American Institute of Architects and four local Chapter awards. In addition, the International Solar Energy Society selected the Program Center for its excellent integration of solar technology and architectural design.