R.E. Smith Construction Company

In honor of Earth Day, The Springfield Botanical Center and RE Smith Construction hosted a construction tour of the Botanical facility for the Emerging Green Builders Association of Springfield, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Missouri Heartland Chapter. EGB is an association of young professionals dedicated to the concept of environmentally sensible construction practices. Tyler J. Peck, project architect for the Botanical Center from H Design Group, coordinated the tour.

The 19,000 square foot center is located in Close Memorial Park at 2400 South Scenic Avenue , and is a Springfield Green County Park Board project. Project architects and engineers designed the center to meet Silver Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) status.

“The building is designed for energy efficiency and environmental sensibility from the ground up,” said Mike Freitas, project manager for RE Smith Construction, general contractor for the project. “For example, it features a water collection system to utilize run-off rain water for irrigation of landscaping at the center, and will utilize a geothermal field and ground source heat pump for the HVAC system.”

The Center will provide public spaces for continuing education in landscaping and botanicals, as well as rentable space for wedding receptions and other events held in the Close Memorial Park gardens. In addition, it will house administrative offices for the Parks and the University of Missouri Extension offices, and will serve park visitors, botanical students, and experts in botany and horticulture.

Project architects are Brent M. Stevens and Tyler J. Peck, from H Design Group, with Mike Freitas as Project manager and Curtis Rice as superintendent for RE Smith Construction. Engineers are Mettemeyer Engineering (civil and structural) and Colvin Jones Davis (mechanical, electrical, plumbing). Jason Hainline, senior project manager Architectural Energy Corporation, is the LEED consultant for the project.