Marvel has recently completed the $18.1 million restoration and redesign of the El Yunque Visitor’s Center, "El Portal," located in the Puerto Rican municipality of Rio Grande. Commissioned by the USDA Forest Service, the project is part of the agency’s focus on strengthening the recreation offerings of El Yunque National Forest, The only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System.
The reconstruction included the addition of a new entry plaza and gardens that welcome visitors to the center. New passive ventilation was integrated at the exhibit, cafe, and multi-use pavilions, accomplished through new roof structures with clerestory windows and new shading structures. Additionally, a new cafe and a commercial and catering kitchen allow for more diverse uses to the Visitor’s Center.
Marvel also designed the only accessible trail in the entire National Forest as part of the project. New interpretative exhibits were designed by Split Rock Studios. The reception desk and interior signage at El Portal were custom-designed and built by Puerto Rico Hardwoods with recycled local mahogany boards from the forest.
After sustaining significant damages from Hurricane Maria, the Visitor’s center has been closed since 2017. The project began in the summer of 2019 and completed in December 2021. It officially reopened on January 20, 2022.
Related Stories
| Feb 26, 2014
Adaptive reuse project brings school into historic paper mill
The project features nontraditional classrooms for collaborative learning, an arts and music wing, and a technologically sophisticated global resource center.
Sponsored | | Feb 20, 2014
Chicago’s historic Wrigley Building renovated to attract tech companies
Purchased in 2011 by a consortium of investors led by BDT Capital Partners, the building’s new owners have recently renovated and reimagined the next life for this architectural landmark—as a hub for tech firms.
| Feb 14, 2014
Must see: Developer stacks shipping containers atop grain silos to create student housing tower
Mill Junction will house up to 370 students and is supported by 50-year-old grain silos.
| Feb 13, 2014
Extreme Conversion: Nazi bunker transformed into green power plant, war memorial
The bunker, which sat empty for over 60 years after WWII, now uses sustainable technology and will provide power to about 4,000 homes.
| Feb 5, 2014
Extreme conversion: Atlanta turns high-rise office building into high school
Formerly occupied by IBM, the 11-story Lakeside building is the new home for North Atlanta High School.
| Jan 31, 2014
6 considerations for rehabbing student union buildings
Most colleges and universities feel pressure to offer the latest amenities in order to attract and retain the best and brightest students. While hauling in the bulldozer to create modern facilities is attractive in some regards, deciding to renovate can be just as effective and, in some cases, even preferable to new construction.
| Jan 29, 2014
Historic church will be part of new condo building in D.C.
Sorg Architects unveiled a design scheme for 40 condos in a six-story building, which will wrap around an existing historic church, and will itself contain four residential units.
| Jan 29, 2014
Notre Dame to expand football stadium in largest project in school history
The $400 million Campus Crossroads Project will add more than 750,000 sf of academic, student life, and athletic space in three new buildings attached to the school's iconic football stadium.
| Jan 14, 2014
D.C. Navy Yard building, site of mass shooting, will be renovated
A remembrance area and a new visitor's entrance will be among the changes when the Navy rebuilds Building 197 of the Washington Navy Yard, where a gunman killed 12 people and then was killed in a shooting spree in September 2013.
| Jan 6, 2014
Energy-efficiency retrofits can help reduce healthcare costs
Reducing energy consumption through energy-efficiency retrofits represents an underappreciated way to cut healthcare costs, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.