Old Faithful Visitor Education Center

ARCHITECTURE BY CTA ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS

How do you build a structure upon fragile terrain, in a historic setting, that’s designed to host thousands of tourists each year? Jim Beal could tell you: very carefully, with a lot of research, and over a long period of time.

Beal, an architect with Montana-based CTA Architects Engineers, and his team spent 10 years working on Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful Visitor Education Center. With the help of the National Park Service and Swank Construction, they set out to create a building that would honor the aesthetic of the region while propelling design forward, withstand a harsh climate and, of course, host visitors.

Getting to that end, however, was no easy feat. The design team had to work within a tight building season cut short by harsh winter months. They needed to be mindful of the sensitive balance of the terrain—and the native wildlife. The building needed to be large, but had to have a shallow foundation to limit site disturbance. “No one completely understands all of the dynamics that go into creating a geyser that’s as faithful as Old Faithful,” Beal explains, “so we didn’t want to screw up the ‘plumbing’ of the site.”

But at the opening dedication of the LEED Gold-certified building, Beal knew the design was a success. He recalls, “There were several hundred people in the lobby space,” which has floor-to-ceiling windows that capture up-close views of Old Faithful. “The moment the geyser went off, people just stopped, turned their heads, and watched.”

A SENSITIVE SETTING

To create a structure that will last, Jim Beal and his team had to understand the harsh environment.
DOUBLE DUTY Though many of the visitor center’s design elements look good, they also work hard. The organically shaped walkways aren’t just for sightseers to stroll upon; they flow around storm-water-collection zones that help replenish the underground aquifer that’s essential to the life of the geyser. The contoured metal on the eaves of the roof are a contemporary design gesture, but they also help prevent snow buildup. Stone at the base of the structure resists weathering against the feet-high snow piles that accumulate there each winter, while shingle siding—double-stacked for durability—recalls the look of the area’s iconic Old Faithful Inn.
GO WITH THE FLOW In the lobby, a computer-operated, convection-based ventilation system helps keep air fresh and reduces cooling costs. In a continuous loop, cool air is pulled in through louvers at the bottom, then heats up and exits through clerestory windows at the top.

CONSTRUCTING WITH A CONSCIENCE

Beal and his team had to tear down the site’s original visitor center in order to make way for a new building (that would occupy the same footprint as the one it would replace, to limit site disturbance). They crushed all of the concrete from the old structure’s foundation and sidewalk (approximately 70,000 square feet of hardscape) and used it as fill material. Though they were unable to use materials from within the park itself, they sought out locally sourced materials like concrete and stone. More than 99 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill, and construction vehicles were steam-cleaned before use to prevent the transfer of non-native plant species into the sensitive ecosystem.

ARCHITECTURE CTA Architects Engineers, Billings, MT, 406-248-7455, ctagroup.com DEVELOPER Peter Galindo, National Park Service, 307-344-2429 CONSTRUCTION Swank Enterprises, Kalispell, MT, 406-752-5411, swankenterprises.com CTA TEAM Principal in charge, Keith Rupert; Design Architect, Jim Beal; Project Manager and LEED-AP, Sue Anderson; Project Architect, Jim Baldwin; Interior Design, Stacey Campbell; Structural Engineer, Steve Bjordahl; Mechanical Engineer, Zoe Smith; Electrical Engineer, Jeff Haidle; Lighting Design, Zoe Rounds; Plumbing Engineer, Steve Marshall; Civil Engineer, Patrick Fischer; Fire Protection, Kelly Holshue; Commissioning, Ron Van Vliet; Landscape Architect, Eirik Heikes; Audio/Visual, Justin Voeller; Steel Detailing, Brian Amen and Chandra Neutgens, Field Representative, Dane Jorgensen and Ted Conover