PROJECT  Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Welcome Center at Niagara Falls State Park

ARCHITECT  GWWO Architects

LOCATION  Niagara Falls, New York, US​

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  10/1/2023

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  Alan Reed, Lisa Andrews, Katherine Speicher Melluish, Linda Durand, Samir Taylor, Matt Ames, Patrick Fava, Al Ip, Lauren Workman & Evan Lehner
OWNER/CLIENT  New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
CONTRACTOR/CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  RP Oak Hill Building Company, Inc.
PHOTOGRAPHER  Tom Holdsworth
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Fisher Associates Landscape Architecture Studio
CIVIL ENGINEER T.Y. LIN International Group
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER  T.Y. LIN International Group
MECHANICAL ENGINEER  T.Y. LIN International Group
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER  T.Y. LIN International Group
CONSULTANT  Exhibit Designer: Haley Sharpe Design, Inc., 75 Sherbourne Street Suite 223, Toronto Ontario, M5A 2P9, Canada; Orysia Goddard, orysiag@haleysharpe.com
CONSULTANT  Cost Estimator: Forella Group, 5180 Parkstone Drive, Suite 250, Chantilly, VA 20151; Israel Aguero, Israel@forellagroup.com
CONSULTANT  Acoustical Designer: Acoustical Design Collaborative, 7509 L’Hirondelle Club Road Ruxton, MD 21204; Neil Shade, nts@akustx.com
CONSULTANT  Geotechnical Engineer: McMahon & Mann Consulting Engineering & Geology, PC, 2495 Main St #432 Buffalo, NY 14214; Mike Mann, mmann@mmce.net
CONSULTANT  Environmental Engineer: Ravi Engineering & Land Surveying, PC, 2110 S. Clinton Ave, Suite 1 Rochester, NY 14618; Ben Reddy, breddy@ravieng.com
CONSULTANT  Surveyor: Foit-Albert Associates, Architecture, Engineering and Surveying, PC, 295 Main Street, Suite 200 Buffalo, NY 14203; Mike Pohl, mpohl@foit-albert.com
CONSULTANT  CM Advisor: The LiRo Group, 690 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14209; Andrew Schuler, schulera@liro.com
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SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT  
Annually, over nine million people travel to Niagara Falls State Park—the most visited in New York and the oldest state park in the US—to witness the 3,160 tons of water that flow over the falls every second. The cramped and outdated visitor center obstructed approaching views of the falls and confused visitors with its winding, unclear path to the falls. The new welcome center places the awe-inspiring beauty of the Niagara River Gorge and immense power of the falls at the forefront, framing views of the head of the falls and offering several intuitively clear pathways to the falls, whereby each visitor can “choose their own adventure.”

As a new interpretive gateway to this state and national treasure, the center offers direct, restorative, and educational route options as visitors move through the various amenities to ultimately reach the falls. Visitors are taken on a journey through time that spans the eras of geological formation, highlights the flora and fauna of the region, and examines the eventual human impact on the falls, bringing to life the many voices and perspectives of those who have experienced their grandeur. Designers collaborated with local historians, residents, and Indigenous communities to create a holistic experience that highlights the natural, industrial, and Indigenous American history.

An elegant, quiet form nestled into the sloped site, the building gracefully transitions visitors from the formal street-side entrance plaza to the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed landscape of the lower grove. Like a giant sheet of water, the building’s expansive glass facade maximizes visual connections to the falls and symbolizes an abstraction of the falls’ movement with a bird-friendly frit-pattern. Natural materials—including limestone sourced from the Niagara escarpment, wood ceilings, and blackened metal soffits—respect the region’s natural and industrial history. A grand exterior stair provides a direct pathway to the falls, with an adjacent meandering ramp system designed for accessibility and additional views of the site and native flora.

Sustainability played an integral role in the design of the new welcome center. Visible from below, rooftop bifacial photovoltaic solar panels reinforce the falls’ historic connection to power generation and help power the building’s sustainable, all-electric systems. Built on a previously developed site, the majority of the center’s footprint sits in the same location as the existing building to minimize environmental impact. By nestling the building into the topography, the building benefits from a reduction of the heating and cooling demands of the spaces under the vegetated roof. Low-flow plumbing fixtures throughout the facility reduce indoor water use while the irrigation system for the development’s native plantings is sourced from the Niagara River and supplemented by cisterns that capture water from the building’s roofs to reduce the use of potable water. Other features that optimize the building’s energy performance include LED light fixtures, highly insulated walls and roofs, and energy-efficient, high-performance glazing systems.

JURY COMMENTS (If applicable)

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project PDF

IMAGES (Captions and Photographer Credit)
1. Upper Level Entry / Tom Holdsworth Photography
2. Upper Level Entry / Tom Holdsworth Photography
3. Upper Level Lobby / Tom Holdsworth Photography
4. Upper Level Plaza / Tom Holdsworth Photography
5. Exterior Grand Stair / Tom Holdsworth Photography
6. Lower Plaza / Tom Holdsworth Photography
7. Lower Lobby / Tom Holdsworth Photography
8. South Facade / Tom Holdsworth Photography