Redesign of the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve Center in Grand Teton National Park to function as a rock and mineral visitor center.
DESIGN EXCELLENCE NOMINATION, LYSA JANSSEN
A REVERENT EXPLORATION
Evoking both the reverence of a fine art museum and the exploration encouraged by a natural discovery center, this proposal contextualizes the existing building in regards to its magnificent surroundings, with a contemporary and nuanced atmosphere often missing from conventional National Park Service interiors.
Throughout the main exhibition space, extended platforms inspired by elevated walkways on site situate the displays within context and encourage a curiosity in circulation. A fractured system of papered expanded metal panels evokes geologic movement and dissipates the transition between indoor and outdoor, existing structure and extension, roof and sky. Long horizontal sightlines being a staple to NPS Rustic style, they are here employed to filter the low eastern and western sun through the softened mesh.
Honest, functional, and historically-informed finishes consort with contemporary uses of industrial and organic material to create a timeless, approachable aesthetic.
An adaptable system inspired by ‘pin-art’ mechanics provides for responsive, volumetric display.
