Como Park Visitor Education Resource Center
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Project: Como Park Visitor Education Resource Center
City: St. Paul
State: MN
Architect: Hammel Green & Abrahamson
Owner: City of Saint Paul
Completion: 2005
Value: $10M-$20M
Description:
Como Park's Education Resource Center (ERC), serves as a visitors' center, gateway to the Zoo, and connection to the Conservatory providing classrooms, an auditorium, and exhibits to foster appreciation of the environment and bio-diversity. The ERC functionally and architecturally weds two venerated institutions, Como Zoo and Como Conservatory. The ERC form and materials evolves from its needs and context maximizing daylight usage and combining the white steel latticework of the Conservatory with the native stone walls of the Zoo building. Oriented south, Tropical Encounters provides students with six exploration camps and three treehouse classrooms nestled in the palm canopy. This education exhibit encourages children to explore plants and animals, creating their own experiments on the forest floor that can then be completed back in the upper canopy labs. The shape of Tropical Encounters recalls the skeletal structure of leaves with long structural veins stretching north/south bending along clerestory operable windows. The angular form maximizes winter sunlight collection while deflecting much summer light. The more formal education and service functions are located north of the gateway. Their functions overlook reflecting ponds that act as part of the building's cooling system passively drawing cool moist air through lower windows. Victorian Water Platers, lily pads, dot the ponds, a turn-of-the-century exhibit discontinued decades ago.
Awards: Cover Feature of Architecture Minnesota November-December 2005.