FEATURED PROJECT:
Mission San Luis Visitor Center
Perched on a hill on a 60 acre archaeological site and overlooking a heavily wooded buffer of mature trees, this new 23,000 ft² visitors center serves as the pedestrian porthole to the complex. The design represents a modern extrapolation of the Spanish mission style with its masonry and heavy timber construction.
The Visitors Center houses exhibit spaces, a state-of-the-art theater, classrooms, gift shop and offices. In addition, the center also has a banquet hall accommodating up to 250 people equipped with private powder rooms, a catering kitchen and an interior courtyard. The design allows for a historic reference to site while still utilizing a modern palette in terms of detailing and materiality. The building placement maximizes the views as well as introduces a formal axis to the archaeological site allowing for better security and pedestrian/vehicular flow.
As a public facility, the visitors center provides many new and exciting opportunities for the community as a venue for the arts as well as a depository of early American history. The picturesque setting of its natural environment as well as the amenities housed within allows for enormous flexibility in terms of program and financial viability. All function spaces can be modified to account for any group size ensuring the right level of intimacy for any occasion. The facility will serve as a destination for many occasions, both big and small. Its design and construction is robust and conveys a sense of permanence and relevance. Despite the massing, the structure maximizes natural lighting through generous application of glass recessed either deep within exterior walls or under the total shading of covered walkways. The heating and cooling loads are minimized through well insulated perimeter walls and roofs and mitigated by an extremely advance and efficient magnetic centrifugal chiller. Utilizing the latest in technology and materials while carefully referencing the design sensibilities of Florida’s colonial past, this facility will serve as a bridge into history.
