Attendees at an event hosted by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA)-St. Louis were impressed by a presentation on the newly constructed visitors center and improved accessibility at the Missouri Botanical Garden, also known as Shaw Garden, located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis. The Garden, a showcase of plants from not only the U.S. but all around the world, was founded by philanthropist Henry Shaw and is the oldest operating botanical garden in the USA.
What is now the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, considered the “Gateway to the Garden,” is the culmination of several years of reconfiguring and adding to the popular attraction, completed just two weeks ago, according to Deniz Piskin, vice president of facilities and construction at the Garden. The Garden has been inviting a variety of professional associations in commercial real estate to learn about this substantial project.
Planning for what became the current entrance to the Garden began in 2016, Piskin said, and originally focused on renovating the Ridgeway Center, then the entrance and visitors’ center. The year 2017 saw a visualization study that changed the focus of the project.
“The realization was that the Garden and its visitor numbers were increasing, so the best thing to do was (create) a bigger and more modern facility,” Piskin said. “The guiding principle was to create a better connection with the Garden as soon as visitors arrive.”
The $100 million project incorporated an elevation change as well as the new building. “We went to improve access,” Piskin said. That meant making it possible to move from the center around the building (to a café, gift shop and conference space, among other indoor amenities) to the garden without needing stairs or elevators to get in.”
From the parking areas, visitors now can use central steps or “gently sloping walks” on either side of the steps, making access easy for people using wheelchairs, walkers or strollers. Once indoors, there is no need to use stairs or elevators to continue into the Garden.
The project was in three stages so the Garden could remain open while the Ridgeway Center was demolished, Piskin said. “We built a temporary visitors’ center, built the new center and converted the temporary one into a permanent event center.”
The center is a LEED project-Gold Target and “close to Platinum,” Piskin noted. Features include two rooftop cisterns for a rain-harvesting system that saves more than 700,000 gallons of water a year; natural ventilation, which also has been economical; an exterior trellis, interior sun control and frit patterns that create a sense of being in nature; and rooftop solar panels on the majority of roofs, tied into the engineering system, resulting in a 22.9% reduction in energy use.
“The design goes from the most realistic to the most abstract,” Piskin said.
Design elements incorporate the biophilic approach, defined by Wikipedia as “a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through … direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.” The lobby features a perforated scrim of about 80 panels that creates pixilated shadows on the walls and floor to simulate being under trees.
Some of those aspects were both creative and environmentally oriented: “We repurposed a 6,000-pound tree into a log bench in our restaurant … and a community table.”
Educational elements can be found throughout the building. Botanical crest acrylic panels weighing 600 pounds display plants on laminated screens manufactured by 3-Form. The terrazzo floors incorporate water-jet-cut brass inlays of leaves with their names.
The project team was both extensive and diverse. Contractors and vendors included Ayers Saint Gross, Tao Lee, Randy Burkett Lighting Design, McClure, Ricca Design, Alberici, CDI and more.
Ameren sponsored the IFMA-STL event with 2023 Platinum Sponsors Apex Restaurant & Market Solutions and Kone Elevators Escalators.
After Piskin’s remarks, attendees enjoyed a tour of the facility and improvements, highlighted by views of a current exhibition of glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly through October 15, 2023, that includes lighted displays in the evenings.
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Attend Chihuly Nights May 13–August 27 on Thursday–Sunday nights, 6–10 p.m., and view Chihuly’s illuminated works of art with live music, cocktails, and pop-up offerings all summer long. Purchase tickets to guarantee admission. FEATURE IMAGE CREDIT: MWM STL