by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

How do you . . . design a state-of-the-art visitor center that reflects the beauty of its surroundings?

Summary: The new 19,500-square-foot Grand Teton Discovery and Visitor Center opened last fall in Moose, Wyo., within the Grand Teton National Park in the Teton mountain range. Designed by the Seattle office of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the angular Grand Teton Discovery and Visitor Center features 4,800 square feet of interactive exhibits that focus on the themes of place, people, preservation, and mountaineering. A main feature of the center combines three video “rivers” of continuous footage of Teton images projected on screens in glass walkways. Three million visitors are expected annually at the Grand Teton Discovery and Visitor Center.

Angled roof, log frame
The overall design of the Grand Teton Discovery and Visitor Center reflects the majesty of the Teton mountain range. The center nestles between a dense spruce and cottonwood forest that runs along the Snake River and a sagebrush meadow with the Teton mountains beyond, explains Ray Calabro, AIA, project manager and senior associate at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. “The idea was to occupy the space between the two environments to provide a sense of reorientation to the mountain range,” Calabro says. Calabro worked with Peter Bohlin, FAIA, the firm’s design principal, and David Miller, project architect. “It’s a calming environment because the view back toward the river opens up,” says Miller.

The center uses sustainable Douglas fir logs in its interior and exterior structure. The logs pair with angled glass to create an angled exterior that is U-shaped in plan. “The use of logs was driven in large part to pay homage to the historic National Park Service architecture and the homestead and ranges in the valley,” says Calabro.

The logs create a perimeter colonnade that surrounds a courtyard. “The colonnade provides protection from the summer sun and winter snow,” notes Calabro. The building’s roof tilts upward and away from the courtyard. The log frame supports wood beams that cantilever over a viewing window toward the mountains. The roof also has jagged edges to reflect the mountain peaks behind it.

“The idea is you’re in a place that is human in scale,” Calabro describes. “It has classical proportions and is actually a golden rectangle in plan and proportion. As visitors come into the building, the view tilts up and is recomposed against an angled window wall. That sequence of arriving and entering provides a calm place for visitors before the mountain view beyond is presented to them.”

The firm designed in consideration of the area’s extreme climate, which has up to eight feet of snowfall six months of the year. To weather the snow, the exterior uses concrete, red cedar siding, and a wainscot skirt approximately as tall as the average snow depth. “We also had to consider the loads on the roof. We used a ‘cold’ roof design—there is a layer of air that circulates under the roof to keep the roof itself cold, Calabro says. “This prevents snow from sliding and prevents excessive icicles and ice dams.”

The courtyard features permeable paving to allow water from rain and melting snow to collect in storm chambers and then be released into the groundwater system. “The roof slopes toward the courtyard, which is reset down about four steps to collect snow but still let people circulate,” Calabro explains. Screen vents prevent blowing snow into the ventilation system.

Gathering room with a view
The main space houses a 4,800-square-foot gathering hall displaying interpretive exhibits, casual seating, and a viewing window of the spectacular Teton Range. “The placement of the logs was deliberate for structural reasons but also to provide views and accommodate the exhibit design and circulation,” says Calabro.

A large concrete and stone fireplace serves as the room’s interior focal point. “The fireplace is a counterpoint to the Teton range and evolved as a combination of stone, concrete, ledges, and spaces where people can sit around the hearth, both inside and outside,” Calabro notes. “It was a technical challenge to integrate its form with the angular glass wall.” A bookstore, 900-square-foot art gallery, multimedia room, and classroom surround the gathering space.

Video rivers run through it
The interactive exhibits, designed by New York-based Ralph Appelbaum Associates, focus on four main themes: place, people, preservation, and mountaineering. Three video “rivers" project continuous footage of Teton images on 4-foot-by-15-foot glass screens that form the walkways. “Most visitors come to the park between Memorial Day and Labor Day and don’t experience the different places and seasons of the park,” Calabro points out. “A goal of the interpretative mission was to activate visitors’ senses by activating the floor and projecting park images that they wouldn’t normally see. It trains their eyes and senses to look for those things when they are out in the park.” The film footage was shot and composed by documentary filmmaker David Vassar of Pasadena-based Backcountry Pictures.

A large topographic model shows the extent of the park and Teton range, and there is a ceiling-mounted laser that projects symbols onto the model to coincide with rangers’ interpretive talks on animal migrations, glacier movements, and ascents and descents of the mountain.

In addition to the natural light and timber, sustainable elements employed in the project include fly ash concrete, recycled materials, water conserving plumbing fixtures, and an automatic dimming system.