Mass Timber Education Center Expands Auburn University’s Kreher Preserve

Auburn University’s Kreher Preserve and Nature Center has added a new mass timber Environmental Education Building, completed in December 2024, that broadens its capacity for environmental programming across its 120-acre forested site, Architectural Record reported (11-13-25).

Designed by Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates, the structure introduces nearly 5,000 square feet of raised, wood-framed space arranged in three volumes around a U-shaped courtyard on the western edge of the preserve. The buildings sit about 30 inches above grade on concrete piers and wood footings to protect existing root systems, and they are linked by an open-air public walkway that functions as an extension of the trail network.

The western volume contains a community classroom used for homeschool groups, university classes, and private events. The center pavilion houses staff offices and a reptile collection visible through a large window. The eastern pavilion serves as the classroom for KPNC’s Woodland Wonders preschool.

Principal Tom Chung, who was approached for the project in 2019 and later joined Auburn’s architecture faculty, emphasized the intent to integrate the building with the forest.

“The mission of the preserve is to promote harmony between animal and plant life and humans,” Chung said. “It was important to the client and the design team that the structures nestle in and grow out of the landscape, rather than overwhelm it.”