Andrews, Miller & Associates (AMA) – a division of Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. (AMA/DBF) is proud to announce the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center has received LEED Silver Certification. AMA/DBF provided Site and Civil Engineering to prime architect GWWO for the 17 acre site located off MD Route 335 in Cambridge, MD.
The new 15,000 sf center incorporates a green roof, recycled materials, energy efficient lighting, and water conservation techniques such as rain barrels. Walking paths and trails provide connectivity to the Visitor Center, memorial garden, informational kiosk, picnic pavilion, and a connecting path to the adjacent trails within the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.
DBF assisted with the USGBC LEED certification process obtaining credits for construction activity pollution prevention, alternative transportation with reinforced gravel and turf parking spaces, and maximized the open space to be greater than the building footprint. The stormwater design utilized multiple sustainable techniques such as microbioretention areas, submerged gravel wetlands, grass filter strips and swales, and minimized impervious areas with the use of alternative paving materials. 90% of the average rainfall is captured by these systems and treated. DBF also utilized an innovative wastewater technology, the Bermed Infiltration Pond, treating 30% of the wastewater generated on site to tertiary standards, thereby protecting the groundwater, woods, marshes, and wetlands of the surrounding Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.
According to DBF Project Manager Ken Eaton, LEED Green Associate, “This project is located just outside of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, an ecologically important area within the state of Maryland containing 1/3 of the state’s tidal wetlands. Due to this projects highly sensitive environmental location, it was of the utmost importance to responsibly manage the post-construction surface runoff through sustainable site design utilizing low impact development, innovative wastewater treatment and best management practices.”
Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc., is a full-service architectural, engineering, and surveying firm with offices in Salisbury and Easton, Maryland, and in Milford, Delaware. For additional information about DBF, visit www.dbfinc.com.
For more information, please contact:
Cayla J. Campbell, MBA, Marketing Coordinator
Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc.
601 East Main Street, Suite 100
Salisbury, Maryland 21804
410-543-9091 | cjc@dbf.com
