Ursinus Discovery Center Receives Prestigious Montgomery Award

COLLEGEVILLE, PA — Ursinus College's recent expansion to its expansion, the Innovation and Discovery Center, has been honored by the county with a distinguished award.

It's one of five projects to receive the prestigious Montgomery Award for 2019, honoring projects that enhance and protect local communities and the environment while inspiring others to do the same.

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The expansion is built to LEED standards and "physically and ideologically" connects disciplines, according to the county.

Located in the middle of campus, the Center is home to a range of science curricula, and promotes interdisciplinary work and collaboration among faculty and students of varying disciplines. According to the county, the expansion perfectly encapsulates the vision of the founders of the college, which was that science is a crucial part of the liberal arts, and vice versa.

“These award-winning projects are excellent examples of transformative and sustainable development, realizing the community’s vision through extensive collaboration," Jody L. Holton, AICP, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, said in a statement. "All of our winners...reflect topics that our planning commission is focused on—green and resilient design, historic preservation, multimodal communities, and an inclusive development approach."

Winning projects include Crest Manor in Abington, the Innovation and Discovery Center at Ursinus in Collegeville, Stoneleigh natural garden in Lower Merion, the Walk and Bike Pottstown initiative in Pottstown, and the Asplundh Cancer Pavilion in Upper Moreland.

Lawyer Kate Harper also received the 2019 Planning Advocate Award for her work in protecting green spaces around the county, including Penllyn Woods in Lower Gwynedd and work done on Stoneleigh.

2019 marks the 52nd anniversary of the Montgomery Awards, a program launched in 1967.