The American architectural studios Olin and Overland completed the project of the world's first botanical garden with zero energy consumption in Florida, writes Dezeen.
The garden is powered by a rooftop solar array consisting of 2,158 solar panels.
The project is part of a three-year master plan developed by Philadelphia-based landscape architecture studio Olin to expand the campus of the Marie Selby Botanical Garden, which explores native plant species.
Three new buildings have been added to the campus &mdash ; a multi-purpose car park, a research center and a ticket office, which are grouped together on the site. The largest of the three buildings — a four-story parking lot with a restaurant and a souvenir shop on the first floor. A solar panel on its roof will serve as the main source of energy for the campus.
Between that building and the adjacent research center, 57,000 square feet of solar panels have been placed, which the team says will produce 1.27 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
At the end a year-long monitoring period officially began in June that will track whether “the project produces more energy than it consumes.”
According to the team, it is expected to exceed energy targets by 10 percent the needs of the entire campus, making it the world's first zero-energy botanic garden.
The "New facility’ at the Marie Selby Botanic Garden is a testament to sustainable, regenerative architecture , setting the standard for botanical gardens around the world», — said Overland Partners Associate Director John Byrd.
The second phase of the master plan will include the construction of a greenhouse complex, an educational pavilion and additional infrastructure improvements.