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
![Arizona’s Water Education Center will teach visitors about water conservation and reuse strategies](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CAP%20Visitor_s%20Center-V02-09.01.2023-edited.jpg)
![Arizona’s Water Education Center will teach visitors about water conservation and reuse strategies](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CAP%20Visitor_s%20Center-V04-07.01.2023.jpg)
![Arizona’s Water Education Center will teach visitors about water conservation and reuse strategies](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CAP%20Visitor_s%20Center-V05-07.01.2023.jpg)
![Arizona’s Water Education Center will teach visitors about water conservation and reuse strategies](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CAP%20Visitor_s%20Center-V06-07.01.2023.jpg)
![Arizona’s Water Education Center will teach visitors about water conservation and reuse strategies](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CAP%20Visitor_s%20Center-V07-07.01.2023.jpg)
![Arizona’s Water Education Center will teach visitors about water conservation and reuse strategies](/sites/default/files/inline-images/CAP%20Visitor_s%20Center-V08-07.01.2023.jpg)
Related Stories
| Jun 5, 2013
USGBC: Free LEED certification for projects in new markets
In an effort to accelerate sustainable development around the world, the U.S. Green Building Council is offering free LEED certification to the first projects to certify in the 112 countries where LEED has yet to take root.
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.
| May 29, 2013
6 award-winning library projects
The Anacostia Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C., and the renovation of Cass Gilbert’s grand Beaux-Arts library in St. Louis are among six projects to be named 2013 AIA/ALA Library Building Award winners.
| May 24, 2013
James Turrell's art installation turns Guggenheim Museum into 'skyspace'
James Turrell, an artist whose projects are more properly defined as "light sculptures," will have a major installation at the Guggenheim Museum this summer, turning Frank Lloyd Wright's famed serpentine atrium into a show of shifting colors and textures. The site-specific project, Aten Reign, will run from June 21 to September 25.
| May 17, 2013
First look: HKS' multipurpose stadium for Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the Minnesota Vikings and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group have unveiled the design of the State’s new multi? purpose stadium in Minneapolis, a major milestone in getting the $975 million stadium built on time and on budget.
| May 16, 2013
Chicago unveils $1.1 billion plan for DePaul arena, Navy Pier upgrades
Hoping to send a loud message that Chicago is serious about luring tourism and entertainment spending, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has released details of two initiatives that have been developing for more than a year and that it says will mean $1.1 billion in investment in the McCormick Place and Navy Pier areas.
| May 7, 2013
Renovated bridge building will anchor Nashville riverfront master plan
Renovations to the former Nashville Bridge Company building were recently completed, including a newly-built modern wing. The facility has been re-dubbed The Bridge Building and now offers spaces for meetings, parties, weddings, and other events.
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 26, 2013
BIG tapped to design Europa City in suburban Paris
Danish architecture firm, BIG - led by Bjarke Ingels – has been announced as the winner of an international invited competition for the design of Europa City, a 800,000 square meter cultural, recreational and retail development in Triangle de Gonesse, France.
| Apr 26, 2013
Documentary shows 'starchitects' competing for museum project
"The Competition," a new documentary produced by Angel Borrego Cuberto of Madrid, focuses on the efforts of five 'starchitects' to capture the design contract for the new National Museum of Art of Andorra: a small country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.