The Huntsville (Ala.) Botanical Garden held a groundbreaking ceremony on January 20 for a $13 million, 30,000-sf Guest Welcome Center that, when completed next year, will be a second piece in the Garden’s five-point growth strategy.
Turner Construction, which provided preconstruction services, was tapped to build the Welcome Center. Turner has been a presence in Huntsville for more than 60 years, and its projects there include the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, and the Huntsville Public Library.
The Building Team on the Welcome Center includes Matheny Goldmon Architecture + Interiors (architect and designer), 4Site Incorporated, PEC Structural Engineering, and SSOE Group.
The 112-acre Huntsville Botanical Garden, which opened on May 21, 1988, receives an estimated 350,000 visitors annually. Its attractions include its butterfly house, Grand Railway, and Dogwood trail. The 4.6-acre site on which the Welcome Center is being built had previously been used for parking.
The Welcome Center is one of five expansion components in the Garden’s Master Plan, created by Landscape Architect Tres Fromme of 3.fromme DESIGN, Sanford, Fla. The others are new parking and an enhanced entrance, which have been completed; enhancements to the existing gardens; a new Column Courtyard with 10 remaining columns from the Old Madison County Courthouse, which was demolished in the 1960s; and a new Education Center, to be used primarily for children’s programs, environmental and sustainability education, and a certification program for professionals.
The Welcome Center is designed to resemble a traditional Southern-style home. The building will consist of three rental facilities: A Grand Hall that can accommodate up to 350 guests, a more casual Carriage House, which can hold more than 200 guests, and a glass Conservatory, for up to 40 guests.
The Welcome Center will also include a 3,500-sf check-in area, as well as a café and gift shop. The second-floor mezzanine will include exhibit space as well as offices, storage, and conference space.
Turner says it will employ BIM technology on this project “to deliver the highest quality result in the shortest amount of time.” The building should be completed by early next year, and next month the nonprofit Huntsville-Madison County Botanical Garden Society plans to start taking reservations for 2017 events.
The Garden's Master Plan calls for adding to existing gardens, and building an Education Center. Image: 3.fromme DESIGN/Courtesy of Huntsville Botanical Garden Society.
Image: Matheny Goldmon + Interiors
Image: Matheny Goldmon + Interiors
Related Stories
Contractors | Jun 4, 2024
Contractors expect to spend more time on prefabrication, according to FMI study
Get ready for a surge in prefabrication activity by contractors. FMI, the consulting and investment banking firm, recently polled contractors about how much time they were spending, in craft labor hours, on prefabrication for construction projects. More than 250 contractors participated in the survey, and the average response to that question was 18%. More revealing, however, was the participants’ anticipation that craft hours dedicated to prefab would essentially double, to 34%, within the next five years.
Airports | Jun 3, 2024
SOM unveils ‘branching’ structural design for new Satellite Concourse 1 at O’Hare Airport
The Chicago Department of Aviation has revealed the design for Satellite Concourse 1 at O’Hare International Airport, one of the nation’s business airports. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), with Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects (JGMA), and Arup, the concourse will be the first new building in the Terminal Area Program, the largest concourse area expansion and revitalization in the airport’s almost seven-decade history.
Construction Costs | Jun 3, 2024
Escalation: Predicting project costs in a volatile market
Thad Berkes, Chief Cost Estimator, Design Collaborative, shares that one of the major hurdles that Design Collaborative attempts to forecast for its commercial construction projects is escalation.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 3, 2024
Grassroots groups becoming a force in housing advocacy
A growing movement of grassroots organizing to support new housing construction is having an impact in city halls across the country. Fed up with high housing costs and the commonly hostile reception to new housing proposals, advocacy groups have sprung up in many communities to attend public meetings to speak in support of developments.
MFPRO+ News | Jun 3, 2024
New York’s office to residential conversion program draws interest from 64 owners
New York City’s Office Conversion Accelerator Program has been contacted by the owners of 64 commercial buildings interested in converting their properties to residential use.
MFPRO+ News | Jun 3, 2024
Seattle mayor wants to scale back energy code to spur more housing construction
Seattle’s mayor recently proposed that the city scale back a scheduled revamping of its building energy code to help boost housing production. The proposal would halt an update to the city’s multifamily and commercial building energy code that is scheduled to take effect later this year.
Mass Timber | May 31, 2024
Mass timber a big part of Western Washington University’s net-zero ambitions
Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., 90 miles from Seattle, is in the process of expanding its ABET-accredited programs for electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, and energy science. As part of that process, the university is building Kaiser Borsari Hall, the 54,000-sf new home for those academic disciplines that will include teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, collaborative spaces, and administrative offices.
Construction Costs | May 31, 2024
Despite challenges, 2024 construction material prices continue to stabilize
Gordian’s Q2 2024 Quarterly Construction Cost Insights Report indicates that supply chain issues notwithstanding, many commodities are exhibiting price normalization.
University Buildings | May 30, 2024
Washington University School of Medicine opens one of the world’s largest neuroscience research buildings
In St. Louis’ Cortex Innovation District, Washington University School of Medicine recently opened its new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building. Designed by CannonDesign and Perkins&Will, the 11-story, 609,000-sf facility is one of the largest neuroscience buildings in the world.
Affordable Housing | May 30, 2024
General contractor’s keys to a successful affordable housing project
General contractors can have tremendous influence over a project’s success in terms of schedule, budget, and quality. However, to ensure a project is put on this path, there are a few factors that must be considered.
