The Botanical Research Institute of Texas, also known as BRIT, has moved into its new home in Fort Worth and opens in May.
The facility was built completely of green, sustainable technologies.
Outside, there is a Living Roof with plants native to the Fort Worth prairie. Large windows and sunshades help with energy efficiency, and the landscape is irrigated with recycled water.
"All of the water we will use for irrigation is coming out of a retention pond at the end of the facility,” said S.H. Sohmer, the president and director. “And all the water that lands on the roof and the parking lot, that's what we use for irrigation, so we'll be recycling water as well."
Inside, there are bamboo ceilings, and walls and floors are all made from sustainable resources. The list long – Everything is designed to further the organization's goal of conversation and education.
“What we will try to show our visitors is why plant life is important to them,” Sohmer said. “How you can help conserve it, how you can educate other people about the importance of plants, and how this building itself demonstrates the conservation ethic that we all have here at BRIT."
BRIT has collections documenting plant diversity worldwide, with more than a million herbarium specimens, and a botanical and horticultural library.
