merchants millpond visitor’s center and outdoor educational building...

location: Gatesville, NC
est. completion date: 2007
project team:
Frank Harmon
Erin Sterling

project statement...

The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation needed a 6500-square-foot Visitor Center plus outdoor education building at Merchants Millpond State Park in Gatesville, NC. Merchants Millpond is a Registered Natural Heritage Area that covers 1900 acres and includes the millpond and part of Lassiter Swamp. It was established
as a state park so that its diverse biological, scenic, archaeological, geological and recreational values could be protected. The Division of Parks and Recreation is charged with preserving these values and providing park experiences that promote pride in and understanding of North Carolina’s natural heritage.

Merchants Millpond has a variety of exceptional and unusual scenic resources. Opportunities exist to be near or even out on the pond viewing wildlife while paddling in an ecological wonderland. Lassiter Swamp, with its large cypress trees shrouded in Spanish moss, is like an enchanted forest to be appreciated and admired. The swamp’s beauty, serenity, and peacefulness, along with its wonders of nature, provide and increased awareness and appreciation of a swamp environment.

design solution...

The Visitor Center is sited uphill from the pond and parallel to the bank allowing every space to have a breathtaking view along the southeast side of the building. A welcoming porch is located along this side as well for visitors to step outside and enjoy the surroundings. Clerestory windows along the northwest face of the building bring ambient light into the reception area, lobby and exhibit space. The adjacent auditorium and classroom are connected to one another and are designed to be as flexible as possible in order to accommodate several functions. From the classroom a trail will lead to a detached, open-air classroom at the edge of the pond.

True to their mission of natural preservation, the Division of Parks and Recreation have requested that the Visitor Center be as sustainable as possible. Features include: geothermal wells, solar hot water, solar power, rain water cisterns used for landscape irrigation and passive solar heating.

progress...

The project is currently wrapping up Schematic Design.

Click here to learn more about this project.