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The Opsis Architecture team designing a conservation education center for the Oregon Zoo is conceiving an interior space, but a connection to the outdoors is taking precedence.

鈥淭he key aspect of this project is to connect the community into better understanding the importance of conservation,鈥� Opsis partner Alec Holser said. 鈥淚t’s really how your daily actions affect natural systems and habitats.鈥�

Opsis, based in Portland, is working with Seattle-based Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects on the design for the 19,000-square-foot center. It will be divided into two buildings to maximize outdoor open space, including a central plaza, an outdoor caf茅, a learning garden and a nature playground. Inside, the center will house four classrooms, a 150-seat auditorium, a community meeting space, an insect zoo and an interactive conservation lab where visitors can learn about how zoo scientists care for endangered animals, such as western pond turtles.

The sustainable design of the center will fit its theme 鈥渟mall things matter,鈥� meaning that everyone plays a part in protecting the environment and natural habitats, Holser said. A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating is being targeted for the development, which demonstrates the zoo’s commitment to practicing what it preaches, he said.

鈥淲e’re trying to make the building be demonstrative of buildings that work with the natural systems,鈥� he said.

Planned eco-friendly features include solar panels, a green roof that visitors can view using a periscope, natural lighting and ventilation, and toilets that use rainwater collected from the roof. The design team also is hoping to achieve net-zero energy usage for one of the buildings and install window glass with a pattern or film on it to reduce bird strikes, Opsis project architect Jennie Cambier said.

Beyond environmentally conscious building practices, the Opsis design team paid careful attention to how the center would relate to its natural setting, Holser said. A window-lined central atrium space 鈥� the Nature Exploration Station, or NESt 鈥� will be connected to the center’s learning garden and other outdoor exhibit space.

鈥淗aving that indoor-outdoor experience has really been influenced in the architecture (with) a lot of glass so there is a seamless movement between the inside and outside,鈥� he said.

This indoor-outdoor connection was an important part of the center design for zoo officials, said Grant Spickelmier, the zoo’s education curator.

鈥淲e’re talking about nature and your place in nature,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really would be sad if we shut you in a building.鈥�

Nature was a chief inspiration for the organic shape of the buildings, Holser said.

鈥淭hey have these natural, curving forms,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’re kind of swooping forms that create large roof overhangs that blur the line between inside and outside space.鈥�

Prominent use of wood helps blend the center into the landscape, Holser said.

鈥淭he building has a lot of exposed wooden structure to kind of make it feel like it’s part of the nature of the site,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t creates that layering that nature has. The idea is to create a tree-like canopy. When you go into this space you still have a connection to the outside and the roof kind of floats above you.鈥�

Last summer, zoo officials sought feedback through an online survey on how Pacific Northwest residents connect with nature to help shape the design of the new education center. The input helped inform ways to ensure the center reminds people this can be as simple as planting a garden or visiting a neighborhood park, Spickelmier said.

鈥淣ature is closer than you think,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that’s what we want to do is make nature accessible to everyone.鈥�

Along with indoor classrooms, the new center will have two outdoor platforms for pitching tents and a fire pit gathering space. This will be a vast improvement for the zoo’s educational programs and summer camps, which serve thousands of children annually, Spickelmier said.

鈥淲e’re operating out of some trailer classrooms right now and a lot of tents,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s going to be much better classroom space for camp and class participants.鈥�

At the same time, the auditorium and community meeting space in the center will be open for after-hours events to cater to older zoo patrons, Cambier said.

鈥淏ecause it’s so kid-focused, the zoo wanted to connect to other visitors,鈥� she said.

Fortis Construction crews are scheduled to break ground this fall on a site near the zoo’s main entrance. The center is scheduled to open in spring 2017.

Oregon Zoo conservation education center

Location: 4001 S.W. Canyon Road, Portland

Cost: $10.1 million

Anticipated construction start date: fall 2015

Anticipated construction completion date: spring 2017

Owner: Oregon Zoo

Architect: Opsis Architecture

Landscape architect: Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects

Engineer: Catena Consulting Engineers

Construction manager-general contractor: Fortis Construction

Other associates: IQ Magic