Visitor center at Niagara Falls has expanded exhibition and community spaces
By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor
GWWO Architects recently completed the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Welcome Center at Niagara Falls State Park. The new welcome center replaces an outdated facility with a state-of-the-art interpretive and visitor facility that puts the majesty of the falls front and center. The visitor experience is enhanced with expanded exhibition and community spaces, visitor orientation, and outdoor observation areas. The sustainably designed, all-electric center offers a new interpretive gateway to this state and national treasure.
The new, 29,000-sf building offers an immersive experience both inside the building and out. Visitors are taken on a journey through time that spans the eras of geological formation. The experience highlights regional flora and fauna, and examines the human impact on the falls, bringing to life voices and perspectives of those who have experienced their beauty and grandeur.
The new building includes visitor orientation and lobby areas, planned interactive and immersive exhibits, a gift shop, dining facilities, outdoor terraces, and an overlook. Placing the awe-inspiring beauty of the Niagara River Gorge and immense power of the falls at the forefront, the center is a quiet form nestled into the sloped site. Framing views of the head of the falls, the building gracefully transitions visitors between the formal entrance ellipse gateway and gardens of the upper site to the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed landscape of the lower grove.
Like a giant sheet of water, the building’s expansive glass facade maximizes views, offering continuous connections to the falls throughout the lobby and exhibit areas. A custom, bird-friendly, frit patterned glass, created using computational design overlaid on a standard dot grid, represents a unique abstraction of the movement of the falls. Natural materials, including limestone sourced from the Niagara escarpment, wood ceilings, and blackened metal soffits, reflect the building’s surroundings and industrial history.
Built on a previously developed site, the majority of the center’s footprint sits in the same location as the existing building to minimize environmental impact. By nestling the building into the naturally sloped topography of the site, GWWO reduced heating and cooling demands of the spaces under the vegetated roof. Low-flow plumbing fixtures throughout the facility reduce indoor water use. In addition, the irrigation system for the development’s native plantings is sourced from the Niagara River and supplemented by cisterns that capture water from the building’s roofs to reduce water use.
Among the building’s sustainable features are bifacial photovoltaic solar panels positioned along the perimeter of the roof, which are viewable from below as visitors pass beneath the main entrance canopy. The visibility of the panels aids in reinforcing the falls’ historic connection to power generation. Other features that optimize the building’s energy performance include monofacial photovoltaic solar panels in the middle of the roof, LED light fixtures, highly insulated walls and roofs, and energy-efficient, high-performance glazing systems. The building’s systems are all-electric to lower carbon emissions, lower air pollution, and increase resiliency for the future.
On the project team: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation (owner); GWWO Architects (architect); T.Y. LIN International Group (MEP/FP and structural engineer); RP Oak Hill Building Company (GC).