More than 8 million people visit Niagara Falls State Park in New York annually. The park, designed by Frederick Law Omsted, is the oldest state park in the U.S. And yesterday, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation broke ground on a $46 million 28,948-sf Welcome Center for Niagara Falls State Park, which is scheduled for completion in Spring 2023.
“Niagara Falls is a wonder of the world unique to Western New York and its awe-inspiring beauty has been preserved with Niagara Falls State Park,” said New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, in her Oct. 15 announcement about the Center.
The new building will replace a 35-year-old, much smaller existing facility. The Welcome Center, nestled into a sloped site that offers views to the head of the falls, will include visitor orientation, lobby, interactive exhibits, gift shop, dining, and outdoor terraces and overlook. The Center will comprise new ticketing and information desks, concession spaces, an interpretive museum space, and restrooms.
SUSTAINABILITY IS INTEGRAL TO THE DESIGN
The Center’s glass façade will connect visitors to the falls. And the building’s natural materials—limestone sourced from the Niagara escarpment, wood ceilings, and green roof elements—reflect the building’s surroundings and industrial history. (The park was established in 1885.)
Most of the new building’s footprint will be on the same location as the existing building, to minimize the environmental impact of the site. Indeed, sustainability played an integral role in GWWO Architects’ design of the Welcome Center. The building’s topography reduces heating and cooling demands; low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce water usage; the Niagara River will provide water to irrigate the Welcome Center’s planting, supplemented by water-capturing cisterns.
The building will include roof-mounted solar panels, LED light fixtures, highly insulated walls and roofing, and energy efficient glazing. Its systems are all-electric to reduce carbon emissions in line with the state’s climate goals.
![The new Welcome Center will feature landscaping irrigated by the Niagara River.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Niagara%20Falls%20Welcome%20Center%202.png)
CULMINATION OF MULTI-YEAR REVITALIZATION
GWWO specializes in the design of these kinds of buildings. One of its recent projects was the new Summit Visitors Center for Pike’s Peak in Colorado. Alan Reed, GWWO’s Design Principal, hopes the Niagara Falls State Park project will create “an immersive architectural and educational experience.” GWWO worked with Haley Sharpe Design (the project’s interpretive designers), as well as local historians, residents, and indigenous communities to bring forth an experience that gives visitors a better understanding of the past, present, and future.
Other Building Team members on this project include Buffalo-based RP Oak Hill Building Company (GC) and The LiRo Group (CM and owner’s rep). The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation—named after the founding owner of the Buffalo Bills NFL franchise—contributed an $8 million grant toward the funding of the Welcome Center’s construction, which represents the completion of the $150 million Niagara Falls State Park landscape revitalization that began in 2011.
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.