Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Albuquerque, NM
Project Description
New visitor center for the first urban wildlife refuge in the Southwest. The center sits on a 570-acre site and invites visitors into indoor and outdoor experiences to observe and learn about the natural area.
Design Team
Formative Architecture + Weddle Gilmore Architects
Certifications + Awards
AIA Albuquerque, Honor Award in General Design 2023
AIA Arizona, Honor Award in Distinguished Architecture 2023
Jeff Harnar Award, Contemporary Architecture, 2023
US Fish & Wildlife Service | Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (JEDIA) - Diversity Champion of the Year (Group Award), 2023
NAIOP Awards of Excellence, Eagle Award, 2021
LEED Silver Certification
The Valle de Oro Visitor Center + Headquarters is designed to encourage visitor engagement, demonstrate sustainable design, and provide a welcoming community gathering space.
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge is the first refuge in the country built from the ground up under the FWS’s Urban Wildlife Refuge Standards of Excellence.
These eight standards are the foundation of our work on the visitor center:
Know & Relate to the Community
Deepen Connections with Nature via Stepping Stones of Engagement
Build Partnerships
Be a Community Asset
Ensure Adequate Long-Term Resources
Provide Equitable Access
Ensure Visitors Feel Safe & Welcome
Model Sustainability
When envisioning the design for the new Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Formative Architecture and partner Weddle Gilmore Architects sought to create indoor and outdoor spaces and celebrate the surrounding lands and wildlife.
Valle de Oro is the first of its kind to have Urban Night Sky Place designation and has been used in multiple bird-safe glazing articles.
Underpinning its environmentally conscious design is the Valle de Oro Environmental and Economic Justice Strategic Plan, which matches the needs and aspirations of the community based on a collaborative, intentionally inclusive process and is the first such plan for a public land site.
The new building includes the main visitor center and “gateway” to the refuge, an educational space and wetland terrace for immersive wetland experiences, and an outdoor covered amphitheater to host large gatherings.
Local materials, like “beetle kill” pine ceilings, are featured throughout the design.
Expansive glass folding doors and a large folding roof plate for shade offer a seamless indoor-outdoor experience for visitors.
The visitor center received a LEED Silver certification as well as innovation for Biophilic Design and Bird Collision Deterrence.
Sustainable features include restored and protected habitats, non-potable water use, rainwater catchment and storage, native landscape, highly efficient mechanical systems, and renewable solar energy production.
The project officially opened in fall 2021 to overwhelming praise. In the first season, the local swallow population gave their stamp of approval, building hundreds of nests in the area—an early sign of success for the new urban wildlife refuge.
Services Provided
Architecture
Interior Architecture
Programming
Comprehensive Planning
Community Outreach
Signage/Wayfinding Design
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
Environmentally Conscious Design
Photography
Patrick Coulie & Matt Windquist
Design Team
Formative Architecture
Weddle Gilmore Architects
Surroundings Studio
Bio-habitats
Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers
Ideum
High Mesa Consulting Group
RME ABQ Structural Engineers
Videography
Apollo Road Media
Procurement + Delivery
Multi-phase design competition; design-build
Contractor
CF Padilla - Brycon Joint Venture
Year
2021
Contract Value
$8.49M