Canyon Country Discovery Center
The Canyon Country Discovery Center is a unique facility founded to enrich the experience of the Colorado Plateau by promoting outreach and advancing regional research in anthropology, archeology, geology, ecology, and history. Representative of this diverse and rugged wilderness, the design emerged through a process of cultural inclusion, including meaningful input from representatives of the Hopi, Ute, and Navajo Nations. The rotunda, an exhibit hall, provides flexible space to implement hands-on learning and visitor engagement. A glass disc in the center marks the optimal vantage point for views out along the cardinal points, bathed in daylight from a circular skylight above. The Center seeks to provide similar moments of subtle connection through a sequence of inviting interior environments punctuated by moments of intrigue.
SERVICES: Programming, Master Planning, Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Design
AWARDS & RECOGNITION:
2017 Best Projects Merit Award, Engineering News Record Mountain States
Design Challenge
REPRESENTING THE DIVERSE CULTURES OF THE REGION
Because the center celebrates all aspects of the Colorado Plateau Region, the client requested the design of the building represent the diverse cultures of the area. This was accomplished by combining elements from Native American, Anglo, and Hispanic cultures.
Information
BY THE NUMBERS
Monticello, UT | 16,200 SF | 2015
Earth Centered
Zero Energy Design using passive strategies that reduces the amount of energy needed to light and cool/heat the facility.