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
| Aug 29, 2013
McCownGordon Construction plans Kansas office
In response to business growth and client demand, McCownGordon Construction of Kansas City announced today it is opening an office in the State of Kansas located in Manhattan, Kan.
| Aug 27, 2013
Industrial Sector Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 26, 2013
Chicago Bears kick off season at renovated Halas Hall
An upgraded locker room, expanded weight room, and updated dining room with an outdoor patio greeted the Chicago Bears when they arrived at Halas Hall for practice this month. The improvements are part of a major expansion and renovation of the Bears’ headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., completed by Mortenson Construction in less than seven months.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 22, 2013
Warehouse remake: Conversion project turns derelict freight terminal into modern office space [slideshow]
The goal of the Freight development is to attract businesses to an abandoned industrial zone north of downtown Denver.
| Aug 21, 2013
First look: Petersen Automotive Museum's dramatic facelift
One of the world's largest automotive museums unveils plans for a stunning, sculptured metal exterior and cutting-edge interior upgrades.
| Aug 20, 2013
40 Under 40 retrospective: ‘U40s’ take on continuing ed, snake’s blood
Every month we’ll be touching base with past 40 Under 40 honorees to see what’s been happening in their professional and personal lives since winning the award. This month: An accomplished author of test-prep books and an architect who headed to China when the American economy turned sour.
| Aug 20, 2013
Top Data Center Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
DPR, Balfour Beatty, Holder head Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest data center contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Aug 20, 2013
First look: $550 million Billie Jean King National Tennis Center renovation
The United States Tennis Association has announced its plans for a sweeping transformation of the USTABillie Jean King National Tennis Center that will include the construction of two new stadiums, as well as a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium. The transformation will be implemented in three phases to begin at the conclusion of the 2013 US Open, with the goal of overall completion by the 2018 US Open.
