Two years after his death, a building was proposed by a former student to commemorate Mr. Simpson's contributions. A visitor center was chosen for this project because it offers a chance for the public to come and learn about Mr. Simpson and the functions of the Experiment Station. Not only will the visitor center display all the things Mr. Simpson has done over the years, it will also be a place for people to come and learn about native plants. It will be an educational facility where classes and workshops will be held to teach people about the fundamentals of native plants and gardening. The main building material used is straw bale.
Straw bale offers many sustainable and energy efficient properties.
The material used for finishing the bale walls is earth plaster. The main source of heating in the visitor center is by means of a vented trombe wall, while cooling is done by an evaporative cooling tower. The tower has 3 blowers to help circulate the air. The blowers can also be reversed to induce natural ventilation throughout the building. Two cisterns on the site serve as storage tanks for the rainwater collection system.