More than 8 million people visit Niagara Falls State Park in New York annually. The park, designed by Frederick Law Omsted, is the oldest state park in the U.S. And yesterday, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation broke ground on a $46 million 28,948-sf Welcome Center for Niagara Falls State Park, which is scheduled for completion in Spring 2023.
“Niagara Falls is a wonder of the world unique to Western New York and its awe-inspiring beauty has been preserved with Niagara Falls State Park,” said New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, in her Oct. 15 announcement about the Center.
The new building will replace a 35-year-old, much smaller existing facility. The Welcome Center, nestled into a sloped site that offers views to the head of the falls, will include visitor orientation, lobby, interactive exhibits, gift shop, dining, and outdoor terraces and overlook. The Center will comprise new ticketing and information desks, concession spaces, an interpretive museum space, and restrooms.
SUSTAINABILITY IS INTEGRAL TO THE DESIGN
The Center’s glass façade will connect visitors to the falls. And the building’s natural materials—limestone sourced from the Niagara escarpment, wood ceilings, and green roof elements—reflect the building’s surroundings and industrial history. (The park was established in 1885.)
Most of the new building’s footprint will be on the same location as the existing building, to minimize the environmental impact of the site. Indeed, sustainability played an integral role in GWWO Architects’ design of the Welcome Center. The building’s topography reduces heating and cooling demands; low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce water usage; the Niagara River will provide water to irrigate the Welcome Center’s planting, supplemented by water-capturing cisterns.
The building will include roof-mounted solar panels, LED light fixtures, highly insulated walls and roofing, and energy efficient glazing. Its systems are all-electric to reduce carbon emissions in line with the state’s climate goals.
CULMINATION OF MULTI-YEAR REVITALIZATION
GWWO specializes in the design of these kinds of buildings. One of its recent projects was the new Summit Visitors Center for Pike’s Peak in Colorado. Alan Reed, GWWO’s Design Principal, hopes the Niagara Falls State Park project will create “an immersive architectural and educational experience.” GWWO worked with Haley Sharpe Design (the project’s interpretive designers), as well as local historians, residents, and indigenous communities to bring forth an experience that gives visitors a better understanding of the past, present, and future.
Other Building Team members on this project include Buffalo-based RP Oak Hill Building Company (GC) and The LiRo Group (CM and owner’s rep). The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation—named after the founding owner of the Buffalo Bills NFL franchise—contributed an $8 million grant toward the funding of the Welcome Center’s construction, which represents the completion of the $150 million Niagara Falls State Park landscape revitalization that began in 2011.
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
| Jan 4, 2011
Luxury hotel planned for Palace of Versailles
Want to spend the night at the Palace of Versailles? The Hotel du Grand Controle, a 1680s mansion built on palace grounds for the king's treasurer and vacant since the French Revolution, will soon be turned into a luxury hotel. Versailles is partnering with Belgian hotel company Ivy International to restore the dilapidated estate into a 23-room luxury hotel. Guests can live like a king or queen for a while—and keep their heads.
| Dec 17, 2010
Sam Houston State arts programs expand into new performance center
Theater, music, and dance programs at Sam Houston State University have a new venue in the 101,945-sf, $38.5 million James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center. WHR Architects, Houston, designed the new center to connect two existing buildings at the Huntsville, Texas, campus.
| Dec 17, 2010
Subway entrance designed to exude Hollywood charm
The Hollywood/Vine Metro portal and public plaza in Los Angeles provides an entrance to the Red Line subway and the W Hollywood Hotel. Local architect Rios Clementi Hale Studio designed the portal and plaza to flow with the landmark theaters and plazas that surround it.
| Dec 17, 2010
Toronto church converted for condos and shopping
Reserve Properties is transforming a 20th-century church into Bellefair Kew Beach Residences, a residential/retail complex in The Beach neighborhood of Toronto. Local architecture firm RAWdesign adapted the late Gothic-style church into a five-story condominium with 23 one- and two-bedroom units, including two-story penthouse suites. Six three-story townhouses also will be incorporated. The project will afford residents views of nearby Kew Gardens and Lake Ontario. One façade of the church was updated for retail shops.
| Nov 23, 2010
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which will house the former president’s library and museum, plus the Bush Institute, is aiming for LEED Platinum. The 226,565-sf center, located at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, was designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern and landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh.
| Nov 16, 2010
Brazil Olympics spurring green construction
Brazil's green building industry will expand in the coming years, spurred by construction of low-impact venues being built for the 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee requires arenas built for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro meet international standards for low-carbon emissions and energy efficiency. This has boosted local interest in developing real estate with lower environmental impact than existing buildings. The timing couldn’t be better: the Brazilian government is just beginning its long-term infrastructure expansion program.
| Nov 10, 2010
$700 million plan to restore the National Mall
The National Mall—known as America’s front yard—is being targeted for a massive rehab and restoration that could cost as much as $700 million (it’s estimated that the Mall has $400 million in deferred maintenance alone). A few of the proposed projects: refurbishing the Grant Memorial, replacing the Capitol Reflecting Pool with a smaller pool or fountain, reconstructing the Constitution Gardens lake and constructing a multipurpose visitor center, and replacing the Sylvan Theater near the Washington Monument with a new multipurpose facility.
| Nov 9, 2010
Designing a library? Don’t focus on books
How do you design a library when print books are no longer its core business? Turn them into massive study halls. That’s what designers did at the University of Amsterdam, where they transformed the existing 27,000-sf library into a study center—without any visible books. About 2,000 students visit the facility daily and encounter workspaces instead of stacks.
| Nov 3, 2010
Park’s green education center a lesson in sustainability
The new Cantigny Outdoor Education Center, located within the 500-acre Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., earned LEED Silver. Designed by DLA Architects, the 3,100-sf multipurpose center will serve patrons of the park’s golf courses, museums, and display garden, one of the largest such gardens in the Midwest.
