Dineen worked with the New York architect Robert A.M Stern to reach Acadia University’s goal of making the building a place infused with the natural world. The building includes internationally significant laboratories for botanical and environmental research, six acres of public gardens representing native plant communities of the Acadia Forest Region, and many gardens including a glassed-in winter garden. On top of all of this the building is equipped with fully wired conferencing and educational facilities. The K.C Irving Environmental Science Centre dramatically changed the campus and has been a major attraction throughout the region. The project was completed in three phases over a 2 year construction schedule, at a total cost of 80 million dollars.
During the construction the campus went through two complete school terms. This required all of the construction to be done on a fully operational campus adjacent to other occupied buildings. Not only was safety a large concern but also the interruption of student studies.
