Selected Parks and Cultural Projects by GWWO Architects

HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD VISITOR CENTER

Church Creek, Maryland

Conceived as a series of abstracted forms that can be interpreted in many ways—from the farmstead vernacular of the region to stations along the Underground Railroad—the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center immerses visitors in the story of Tubman’s life. Joined by a shared entry plaza and terrace, the two structures of the complex, one exhibit and one administrative, frame a view north, expressing the importance of traveling northward to escape the circumstances of slavery. The space between the buildings grows wider as visitors venture north—a metaphor for freedom—and the view to the south is truncated by the splay of the buildings, suggesting a sense of oppression similar to that associated with the slaveholding states.

Owner

Maryland Department of General Services

Size

15,786-SF

■■ Indoor and outdoor exhibits, orientation theater, library, multipurpose room, gift shop ■■ Offices, break room, exhibit storage space ■■ Memorial garden, walking paths, picnic pavilions ■■ LEED Silver Certified

Harriet tubman Underground railroad visitor center

ROBINSON NATURE CENTER

Columbia, Maryland

Nestled into its sloped site and largely below grade, the new Robinson Nature Center immerses visitors in a rich environmental education experience from the moment they enter the site and throughout their visit. Situated adjacent to an existing nature preserve, the main objective of the new center is to bring people together with nature, to learn, to experience nature and the environment around them, and promote an ethic of stewardship of the land. Descending through the center’s main “Life of the Forest” exhibit, visitors go from the level of tree canopy to forest floor, both inside and out. Expanses of glass enhance the interpretive experience by offering on-going connections to nature, while also providing natural lighting for the interiors in support of the center’s sustainable mission. Exterior balconies and an inviting terrace off the center’s multipurpose and classroom wing further merge indoor and outdoor space.

■■ Exhibits, classrooms, multipurpose space, auditorium, office, gift shop ■■ 50-seat “Naturesphere” state-of-theart digital planetarium ■■ Designated a Maryland Green Center by the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education

ROBINSON NATURE CENTER

“Each time I visit the Robinson Nature Center, I am reminded of the tremendous amount of thought, precision, and hard work that went into creating this true community treasure. We believe that [it] will quickly become a destination for nature lovers up and down the East Coast.” —Ken Ulman, former County Executive, Howard County, Maryland

ROBINSON NATURE CENTER

AWARDS AIA Baltimore Design Award AIA Baltimore Citation Award, Institutional Architecture WoodWorks Institutional Wood Design Award AIA Maryland Design Award USGBC Maryland Wintergreen Sustainability Award ENR New York Award of Merit (Green Project)

HOMESTEAD HERITAGE CENTER

Beatrice, Nebraska

Designed to capture the essence of the American pioneering story, the new Homestead Heritage Center grows from the land and is a distinguishable form on the landscape. Simple yet evocative, the roof form suggests imagery associated with the American frontier: a ship on the prairie, a plowshare, the billowing canvas of a covered wagon, a furrow in the earth. Offering an experience of surprise and discovery, the center embraces the resource it interprets. Intersecting planes of glass admit an abundance of natural light, while offering unobstructed views to the restored tallgrass prairie that surrounds the center.

Owner

National Park Service Denver Service Center

Size

10,600-SF

■■ Exhibits, multipurpose room, gift shop, land record research area, curatorial spaces ■■ 160-foot exterior exhibit showcasing homesteading in each state, tented gathering plaza ■■ One acre square parking lot, representative of 1/160th of an original homestead ■■ Sustainable design features

Homestead Heritage Center

“ Our staff couldn’t be happier with the impact the Heritage Center has had on the monument. The building, exhibits, and film really help us do our job of explaining and interpreting homesteading history for our visitors.” —Mark Engler, Superintendent, Homestead National Monument of America

PIKES PEAK SUMMIT VISITOR CENTER

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Striking the perfect balance between a dynamic building that presents a clear destination to visitors, and a minimalist structure deferential to Pikes Peak and its majestic views, was critical to the design of the new Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center. Predominately a one-story form seemingly carved from the southeast side of the peak, the new center offers the same unobstructed views Katharine Lee Bates beheld as she penned America the Beautiful. Reminiscent of the crags and rock formations found above the tree line, the design uses shade, shadow, and fragmentation to coalesce the building into the peak. Viewed from below, the visitor center is one with the mountain, yet as one arrives at the peak, the modest entry pavilion is a clear destination.

Owner

City of Colorado Springs

Size

28,000-SF

■■ Exhibits, visitor orientation, dining, gift shop ■■ Rooftop terrace with 180 degree unobstructed views ■■ Seeking the Living Building Challenge ■■ Design Architect: GWWO, Inc./Architects; Managing Firm: RTA Architects

Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center

THE NATURE PLACE

Reading, Pennsylvania

A working example of conservation principles and sustainable development, the new Nature Place embodies Berks Nature’s belief that nature is essential to our quality of life. Sited adjacent to an existing classroom building, orientation of the new structure celebrates the environment, providing panoramic views of the surrounding wetlands, making a visual connection with the nearby Neversink Mountain and maximizing daylighting. Oversized doors in the classroom spaces open to an outdoor deck overlooking the wetlands, gracefully merging the indoors and out. Deferring to the surroundings, building materials include recycled stone from farm buildings and reclaimed wood from Pennsylvania mushroom farms. The new center will serve as a space for education classrooms, community meetings, and administration space for Berks Nature.

■■ “Clean” and “dirty” classrooms, outdoor learning spaces, nature play area ■■ Lobby, conference rooms, offices, support spaces ■■ Trails through wetlands and natural habitats ■■ Designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification

THE NATURE PLACE

“ Our instructions to the architects were to create a simple design, easy to maintain, functional, and respectful of the park. What we have isn’t anything I could have envisioned, but it is everything we dreamed of.” —Kim Murphy, President, Berks Nature

DUPONT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER

Wilmington, Delaware

Elevated above the marshlands, the new DuPont Environmental Education Center at the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge responds to the dynamics of the surrounding natural systems—tidal river and wetlands—as well as infrastructural site elements: an adjacent railway, high voltage power lines, and multiple utility rights of way.

■■ Indoor and outdoor exhibits, multipurpose room, ecology classroom, offices

Traversing the entrance bridge, visitors experience the tenuous connection between man and nature. Seen from afar, the building acts as a beacon marking the terminus of the city’s riverwalk. From within, windows on the north façade frame views to the city, while views to the south open out to the natural setting.

■■ Sustainable design features

Housing exhibits, classrooms, and offices for nature education and related recreation activities, as well as community meeting and gathering space, the building enhances and encourages the relationship between urban development along the waterfront and the natural environment.

■■ Multi-level viewing tower and terraces, boardwalk ■■ Design Architect: GWWO, Inc./ Architects; Managing Firm: Becker Morgan Group

DUPONT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER

AWARDS AIA Baltimore Grand Design Award AIA Maryland Merit Award AIA Delaware Honor Award AIA Baltimore Design Honor Award International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Delaware Chapter Green Building Award

DUPONT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER

“ The success of this project is due, in large part, to the vision of Alan Reed, who envisioned the building sitting here at the edge of the wildlife refuge...” —Mike Purzycki, Executive Director, Riverfront Development Corporation

DUPONT ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER

PORT CANAVERAL EXPLORATION TOWER

Cape Canaveral, Florida

The iconic new Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral expresses the common characteristics—transience, function, and imagery—of Brevard County’s many stories: cruising, the space coast, the military, nature, and beaches. The building’s dynamic form and features—sun louvers, exposed structure, and iridescent skin—contribute to a constant sense of movement as the sun plays across the structure, meet functional needs, and evoke imagery of the Port and County. A rocket ready to launch, a surfboard in the sand, a ship’s hull, a rocket contrail: all can be seen in the structure’s striking presence.

Owner

Canaveral Port Authority

Size

22,500-SF

■■ Exhibits covering 12,000 years of regional history ■■ Visitor orientation, auditorium, multipurpose/special event space, gift shop, café ■■ Seventh floor observation deck with panoramic views ■■ First phase of the Canaveral Cove redevelopment

Port Canaveral Exploration Tower

“Wow. People will want to go see this. I want to see it right now. Plus they’ll want to see our other treasures on the Space Coast. It should boost the whole tourist industry .” —Jerry Allender, Secretary/ Treasurer, Canaveral Port Authority, Board of Commissioners

Port Canaveral Exploration Tower

CADE MUSEUM FOR CREATIVITY + INVENTION Gainesville, Florida

Conceived as a metaphor for the human brain, design of the new Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention was inspired by a passage out of Tennyson’s Ulysses: “I am part of all that I have met; yet all experience is an arch where through gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades forever when I move.” The museum is organized around a central space—the main hall—where all experiences come together. Like Ulysses in Tennyson’s poem, this space is a part of all of the spaces in the museum, yet at the same time serves as the foundation upon which they are experienced. A distinguishable form, the main hall draws visitors in from Main Street with views into and through the museum. Individual wedge-shaped galleries grow organically from its core. An oculus to the sky, symbolic of Tennyson’s “arch,” opens the space to the universe and all that it holds.

Owner

Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention

Size

26,000-SF

■■ Permanent and traveling interactive exhibits ■■ Classroom/multipurpose space, gift shop, kitchen, outdoor event terraces ■■ Designed to integrate future phases of gallery expansion ■■ Sustainable design features

Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention

“I think this project can change our community.” —David Molyneaux, Board Member, Cade Museum Foundation

Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention

FORT MCHENRY NATIONAL MONUMENT VISITOR & EDUCATION CENTER

Baltimore, Maryland

The primary inspiration for the design of the new visitor center at Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine comes from our nation’s most enduring symbol—the Star-Spangled Banner. The two curved walls of the building reflect the dynamic nature of the flag, while the juxtaposition of the walls—clad in distinct materials—evokes the meanings behind the flag’s stripes. The upward slope of the brick wall, as revealed by the receding zinc wall, directs the visitor’s eye toward the fort, creating a visual dialogue between the fort and visitor center. Inside, a light-filled lobby serves as the central organizing element, directing visitors to the immersive exhibit/theater area, where the experience culminates with a breathtaking framed view of the fort with the flag flying overhead.

Owner

National Park Service

Size

17,707-SF

■■ Immersive exhibit and theater experience ■■ Gift shop, multipurpose room, offices ■■ Utilized surplus handmade clay bricks manufactured for restoration of the historic Fort ■■ LEED Gold Certified

Fort McHenry National Monument Visitor & Education Center

“[The] new Fort McHenry Visitor Center is something to sing about.” —Ed Gunts, Architecture Critic, The Baltimore Sun

Fort McHenry National Monument Visitor & Education Center

KILLENS POND NATURE CENTER

Felton, Delaware

Gracefully situated at the transition between ecosystems, the new Killens Pond State Park Nature Center hovers over the pond as it emerges from the hardwood forest. Simultaneously lifting spirits and fading into the landscape, it serves a single and determined purpose— keeping nature at the forefront of the experience. Transparency and openness unite interior spaces with the surrounding landscape, offering wide perspectives of the pond, close inspections of the forest, and opportunities to contemplate the natural forces which dynamically act upon them. The new center enables the Park to offer expanded programs and to more fully interpret the Pond’s natural environment, which they were unable to do with previous facilities.

■■ Exhibits, multipurpose room, laboratory classroom ■■ Conference and meeting facilities, office and administrative facilities ■■ Indoor and outdoor education and gathering areas ■■ Visible rainwater recovery and reuse serves as a teaching tool

KILLENS POND NATURE CENTER

“ The talent within the firm is uniformly excellent. If you are considering an architect to work with you on a challenging project for which you have high expectations, I can tell you without hesitation that you should hire GWWO.” —Greg Kindig, retired Architect, Delaware State Parks

KILLENS POND NATURE CENTER

AWARDS AIA Baltimore Design Award AIA Delaware Citation Award USGBC Maryland Wintergreen Sustainability Award USGBC Maryland Quintessential State Building

CYLBURN ARBORETUM VOLLMER CENTER

Baltimore, Maryland

Master planning efforts which explored options for new and renovated facilities to accommodate existing and future staff and visitation needs, as well as subsequent design of a new 10,100-SF nature center.

■■ Flexible orientation and exhibit space

Clad in natural materials and following the site’s natural grade change, the new Cylburn Arboretum Vollmer Center is designed to sit quietly within the landscape so as not to detract from or overpower the historic Cylburn Mansion. Slate sculptings, a sustainable alternative to the stone found on the site’s historic mansion, cover solid forms that frame a view through the building.

■■ Multipurpose room accommodating up to 250

The light-filled lobby focuses views out to the arboretum’s large collection of maple trees. The angle of the building’s two-story volume further opens and enhances the view, directing the eye to a long vista across the upper level terrace to the natural landscape beyond. The wide staircase echoes the descent of the topography and the large window wall within the multipurpose room continues to expose visitors to the natural environment.

■■ Information station, outdoor amphitheater, gift shop

■■ Offices, catering kitchen, support spaces ■■ Sustainable design features

CYLBURN ARBORETUM VOLLMER CENTER

“The Vollmer Center is a model of what green technology can achieve, illustrating how we can reduce energy use, conserve water, and help to restore our environment.” —US Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

JEAN R. PACKARD OCCOQUAN CENTER

Occoquan, Virginia

Sited on a bluff overlooking the Occoquan River, the Jean R. Packard Center takes advantage of the natural topography and separates the building’s primary functions—interpretation, visitor amenities, and multipurpose space—and usage patterns. The facility is being designed to educate visitors about the park environment as well as to serve as a multipurpose event space. The upper level will house an environmental education space which will be open to the public as well as dually serve as a lobby for functions and open directly onto the upper terraces and garden area. The lower level will primarily serve Park-related functions and will contain offices and a café opening directly onto the lower terrace with outdoor seating. Driven by the contrast between, and union of, two halves—one light and open (public/events) and the other solid and heavy (support)—the architectural expression is articulated through the use of different structural systems and materials: delicate steel and glass on the west side allowing for expansive views of the river, and heavy timber and wood cladding on the east. Similar patterning between the halves ties them together to create a cohesive structure.

■■ Visitor orientation, environmental education space, exhibit, café ■■ Multipurpose event rental space, commercial kitchen, event preparation and staging spaces ■■ Outdoor terrace, pavilion, waterfront plaza, trails

JEAN R. PACKARD OCCOQUAN CENTER

HONORS & AWARDS

Recognition of Design Excellence

Cade Museum for Creativity + Invention1 Gainesville, FL ■■ ENR Southeast Top Project of the Year 2018 ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Ford Orientation Center2 Mount Vernon, VA ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Citation Award 2

■■ AIA Baltimore Grand Design Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center3 Mount Vernon, VA ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Citation Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention 3

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Education Center4 Church Creek, MD ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention

Robinson Nature Center5 Columbia, MD ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Citation Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention ■■ USGBC Maryland Wintergreen Sustainability Award ■■ WoodWorks Institutional Wood Design Award ■■ MD Office of Tourism Green/Sustainable Tourism Award Killens Pond State Park Nature Center6 Felton, DE ■■ AIA Delaware Design Citation Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention (unbuilt) ■■ USGBC Maryland Wintergreen Sustainability Award Everglades National Park Visitor Center7 Homestead, FL ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Honor Award ■■ ASLA Maryland & Potomac Chapters Award

DuPont Environmental Education Center8 Wilmington, DE ■■ AIA Delaware Design Honor Award ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Merit Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Grand Design Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award ■■ IFMA Delaware Chapter Green Building Award National Sailing Hall of Fame9 Annapolis, MD

■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention (unbuilt)

Homestead National Monument of America Heritage Center10 Beatrice, NE ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award ■■ Sika Sarnafil Décor Design Award ■■ NEBRASKALand Foundation Rising Star Award ■■ Nebraska Travel Industry Outstanding Tourist Attraction

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Train Station Rehabilitation Harpers Ferry, WV ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Citation Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Honorable Mention Hampton National Historic Site Mansion Renovation Towson, MD ■■ Preservation Maryland Stewardship Award

■■ Baltimore County Historical Trust Preservation Project Award

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Harpers Ferry, WV ■■ McGraw Block Restoration ■■ AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Honor Award ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award Stieff Silver Building Baltimore, MD ■■ AIA Baltimore Design Award (GWWO Design Studio) ■■ Buildings Magazine Modernization Award