New Jersey celebrates Earth Day with EcoComplex opening in Mansfield Township

MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J., April 19, 2001 — On Monday, April 23, Mansfield Township will be home to the state's first environmental experiment station — the New Jersey EcoComplex, designed by Nadaskay Kopelson Architects of Morristown/Newark.

It was designed to be as "green" as its function, with many environmentally-friendly design elements built right in. It is a place where Earth Day concepts are brought to life.

This multi-institutional, multidisciplinary environmental center is a joint venture of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Stevens Institute of Technology and the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders. It is an incubator for green businesses and an educational and research facility that will develop technologies to help perpetuate the green movement in the Garden State.

EcoComplex is a fully functional research institute where scientists translate new environmental research into commercial applications for business use. This facility incorporates the following environmentally-friendly elements: Recyclable metal for the interior panels, passive solar heating, utilization of adjacent landfill gas (methane) for energy generation, and a new kind of interior paint which eliminates the "off-gassing" of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

From the outset, the project was conceived as being environmentally responsible. The two-story building uses only one-third of the intended building grounds, keeping disturbances to the natural environment to a minimum. The design also conserves functional space, by maximizing usable square footage.

Nadaskay Kopelson's experience designing for high-tech companies who require clean rooms and laboratory elements and its decades of designing energy-efficient buildings for educational institutions were both key to the EcoComplex. The team also specified construction elements, landscaping and site requirements to match the philosophy of the project. The stone driveway minimizes runoff and the plan included allowing undeveloped area surrounding the building to return to its natural state.

The EcoComplex and the fruits of its labors are a good way New Jersey will celebrate Earth Day and earn its reputation as the "Garden State."

Nadaskay Kopelson Architects is the largest architectural firm in northern New Jersey and the fifth largest in the state. It has been serving its clients for the past 30 years. With offices in Morristown and Newark the firm has won numerous awards for clients in healthcare, education, corporate, commercial, and residential and provides architecture, planning, structural engineering, interior design, graphics and communication design services.