Visitor Center Embraces Children with Upgrades

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Mohonk Preserve asked original architect Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership to upgrade its Trapps Visitor Center. A new visitor services desk was part of the project.

Mohonk Preserve Trapps Visitor Center, Gardiner, N.Y., opened in 1998. Its initial design was executed by Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Mohonk Preserve came back to LHSA+DP 10 years later and asked the firm to envision an addition to the 9,200-square-foot building, as well as upgrade the current exhibits and add new ones. The addition is on hold but the visitor center now can boast a new visitor services desk, both topographic and technological upgrades to the topographic map, a new children’s discovery corner, and upgrades to the sensory trail adjacent to the facility including a children’s forest where they can build with natural materials.

Team

Project Architect: Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership, New York
Media Producer: Richard Lewis Media Group, Watertown, Mass.
Fabricator: Murphy-Catton Inc., Walton, Ky., (859) 485-6739
AV Systems Designer: Three Byte Intermedia Inc., New York
Construction Manager and General Contractor: Koerner Construction LLC, Red Hook, N.Y.

A new children’s discovery corner and upgrades to the sensory trail, including a children’s forest, allows children to connect with nature.

Materials

Resin panels embedded with natural leaves are used extensively on the new reception desk and in the topographic model.
Resin Panel Manufacturer: 3form

PHOTOS: Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership