Phoenix-based architecture firm Jones Studio will design the Water Education Center for Central Arizona Project (CAP)—a 336-mile aqueduct system that delivers Colorado River water to almost 6 million people, more than 80% of the state’s population.
The Center will allow the public to explore CAP’s history, operations, and impact on Arizona. With safe, up-close views of the canal, the space aims to enable a larger audience to understand CAP and how it fits into Arizona’s history. The Water Education Center also will host gatherings such as large water-stakeholder meetings, elected official briefings, and school field trips.
The Colorado River Basin is experiencing the effects of a decades-long drought and climate change, and Arizona has been experiencing a Colorado River shortage since 2021. Located at CAP’s headquarters, the new 8,000-sf, net-zero water facility emphasizes climate resilience and features onsite stormwater harvesting and passive rainwater harvesting from the building. The architecture and landscape will be used as pedagogical tools to illustrate innovative water conservation and reuse strategies.
“With this new Water Education Center, we endeavor to create an extremely energy- and resource-efficient building that embodies and expresses sustainable technologies,” Brian Farling, principal of Jones Studio, said in a statement.
Design ideas include a weathered steel cylinder embedded in the earth that acts as a sculptural catch basin for stormwater. In the entry plaza, a diagram of the Colorado River watershed, highlighting the CAP canals and prominent rivers, will educate visitors about the water system’s footprint.
Flexible multipurpose spaces and educational exhibit spaces will open to an outdoor gathering space that bridges the canal. A 27,000-sf canopy will protect visitors from the desert sun and collect rainwater for reuse. Traditional passive design strategies, such as thermal mass and self-shading, will be supplemented by a 6,000-sf photovoltaic array.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Central Arizona Project (CAP)
Design architect and architect of record: Jones Studio
Mechanical and plumbing engineer: Associated Mechanical Engineers
Electrical engineer: Woodward Engineering
Structural engineer: Rudow + Berry
Related Stories
| Nov 12, 2014
Chesapeake Bay Foundation completes uber-green Brock Environmental Center, targets Living Building certification
More than a decade after opening its groundbreaking Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the group is back at it with a structure designed to be net-zero water, net-zero energy, and net-zero waste.
| Nov 12, 2014
Designs by three finalists for new Beethoven concert hall unveiled
David Chipperfield and Valentiny are among the finalists for a new concert hall being built to commemorate Beethoven’s 250th birthday in his hometown of Bonn, Germany.
| Nov 7, 2014
NORD Architects releases renderings for Marine Education Center in Sweden
The education center will be set in a landscape that includes small ponds and plantings intended to mimic an assortment of marine ecologies and create “an engaging learning landscape” for visitors to experience nature hands-on.
| Oct 20, 2014
UK's best new building: Everyman Theatre wins RIBA Stirling Prize 2014
The new Everyman Theatre in Liverpool by Haworth Tompkins has won the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the best building of the year. Now in its 19th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize.
Sponsored | | Oct 19, 2014
The Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral dazzles visitors
With a mission to provide the experience of a lifetime, the Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral, Fla., is designed to inspire, as visitors learn about the history and nature of the port and beyond. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 19, 2014
White House Visitor Center reopens in Washington, D.C.
Designed by SmithGroupJJR and Gallagher & Associates, renovated center shows public its unique role as office, stage, museum, park, and home.
| Oct 17, 2014
OMA, OLIN design unanimously chosen for D.C. elevated park
In the design, the ends of the bridge are pulled upward to form an "X" shape. It allows ample room for add-ons such as a cafe and performance space, in addition to open space for plazas, lawns, and urban agriculture plots.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 16, 2014
Rocky Mountain Institute breaks ground on net-zero Innovation Center
Encompassing the Rocky Mountain Institute’s 32 years of innovation, the new 15,610 square-foot facility will exhibit the principles of integrative design and energy and resource efficiency.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
