The Gorges State Park Visitor Center introduces park patrons to the beauty of this new North Carolina state park. The design of the facility features museum quality exhibit and gallery spaces, a teaching auditorium, classroom for films and presentations, retail space, and administrative offices.
The Visitor Center is LEED Gold® certified and the building is used as a sustainable teaching tool for visitors. Rainwater is collected from the building roofs to provide water suitable for flushing toilets and to supply the building waterfall feature. The Visitor Center harvests site energy including the use of free resources like daylighting, solar water-heating, and geothermal energy systems. Under the parking lot, 27 wells use the earth as a heat source and heat sink for heating and cooling.
General Contractor: Cooper Construction Company | Photography: Mark Herboth Photography
Joel designed and managed this project while a Senior Architect and Associate Principal at PBC+L Architecture
