Tessellating timber panels create graphic patterns on the exterior of this environmental education facility in Amsterdam by Bureau SLA, which also features a roof covered in solar panels (slideshow).

The Nature & Environment Learning Centre (NME) is part of a programme aimed at educating children in the Netherlands about the environment and sustainability.
Dutch studio Bureau SLA was asked to design the first purpose-built facility for the programme, and to ensure its values are expressed in the design.

Located in the gardens of a school in the Amsterdam Noord district, the building replaces two existing temporary structures. It contains dedicated classrooms, an office and a canteen.

Its form and materials were chosen to demonstrate the practical application of sustainable building techniques. The result is an energy-neutral structure.
"What makes the energy management of the NME interesting is that its sustainability is visible, tangible, and easily perceptible to even the most casual observer," said the architects in a statement.

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The angular design is a response to the position of the plot and the need to orient the roof towards the sun to optimise the efficacy of the embedded photovoltaic panels.

By aligning the ridge of the roof along an east-west axis, the solar-collecting panels are pointed directly south. This also results in a ...