G r e e n Wa r r i or : Jim C o a n

Jim Coan
LoCation:

essex

titLe: Director of architectural Practice Company: Centerbrook architects & Planners Web site: www.centerbrook.com info: Coan helped design some of Connecticuts leeD facilities and is developing the Jackson laboratory expansion at the UConn health Center.

Jim Coan sees the importance of incorporating the surrounding natural environment when designing buildings. Photo | Pablo robles

Architect places emphasis on beauty, sustainability

By L.D. Wiegler

he Centerbrook Architects & Planners complex in Essex offers a cool serenity a place where Canadian geese gather on the cusp of a river and where designers play ice hockey when the water freezes. Sitting atop the complexs outdoor deck buttressed by a green

roof Jim Coan, the firms director of architectural practice, glances from underneath a straw hat channeling his inner Henry David Thoreau as he espouses environmentally friendly design. Reading Thoreaus Walden encouraged me to think about the interrelationship of buildings and nature, and how we interact with

both of them, Coan said. Coan oversees the designs from a go-to firm for sustainable architecture in Connecticut. Centerbrooks portfolio includes multiple green buildings at Yale University in New Haven, Quinnipiac University in Hamden, and the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk. One of the companys latest tasks

is designing the Jackson Laboratory complex at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, the main component of the states Bioscience Connecticut initiative. Sustainability in design is like breathing for Centerbrook, said Diane Harp Jones, executive vice president of the Connecticut branch of the American Institute of Architects. Far longer than sustainability has been a fashionability buzzword, it was part of the Centerbrook culture, said Harp Jones. A Columbia University graduate school alumnus, Coan began his studies at Rhode Island School of Design. While in school he says he adapted alternative architecture, solar energy, vernacular buildings, and landscapes, drawing influence from an eclectic group such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Thomas Jefferson. Its not just the sustainability; it has to be a beautiful place, Coan said. Coans upbringing was hardly the stuff of hardscrabble lore, but his parents didnt quite get the allure of architecture. He had to prove himself in order for them to understand the value of his investment of

time and money in his youth. Selecting architecture as a career choice took a leap of faith on the part of my parents, Coan said. I was fortunate to have teachers and mentors who encouraged this interest and helped pursue it. Beyond Centerbrooks Connecticut designs, the firms buildings all over the country tout its commitment to aesthetics in green construction, Coan said. The Mississquoi National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center on Lake Champlain at the Quebec border features large overhangs at its southern faade allowing the winter sun into the building but providing shade in summer. Arpad Baksa, a Manhattan architect specializing in sustainability, said many projects have pushed Centerbrook to the forefront of green design industry. The Palmer Event Space in Austin, Texas is a posh white tenttopped venue boasting glue-laminated trusses and yellow pine, evoking a pavilion-in the-park feeling. The Center for Community in Boulder, Colo. offers 30 percent increases in energy and water efficiency, earning one of many U.S. Green Building Councils

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, or LEED, certifications for Centerbrooks buildings. It was hard to select from so many noteworthy projects, Baksa said. Not all bear Coans stamp, but all of it boasts his style, whether hes been the project manager in charge of managing the design team, project architect, LEED administrator, or sustainability advisor. They are all designing with nature and include sustainability strategies on all of their projects, Coan said. The Centerbrook culture is built on beauty, realizing one of the first and highest uses of every building is fitting into the surrounding environment. Whats the use of a fine house if you havent a tolerable planet to put it on? Coan said, quoting Thoreau.

Green ti p: Putting vegetation on top of a facility a green roof increases energy efficiency by preventing heating and cooling from escaping.