November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42

MEMORY
Fortunately, architecture puts
at least one invaluable tool at our
disposal to further explore these
relationships and foster productive
and inclusive discourse. It's called
an interpretive center, and it's a
type of building our office has been
researching, reimagining, designing
and building for the past three
decades, completing more than 65
such projects.
Most people have been to an
interpretive center of one kind or
another. In its simplest form, it's familiar
to anyone who recalls - as
I certainly do - being dragged off
by their parents on a long vacation
drive and stopping along the way at
Interpretive centers provide a comprehensive
informational environment
that begins with the building and its
surroundings, and then extends to every
aspect of its interior.
various spots of natural or historical
interest. There, at the far end of
the parking lot, was the visitor center;
usually a modest, boxy affair,
the building would often include a
few dimly lit, not-very-engrossing
exhibition
displays, a gift shop
packed with themed keychains and
shot glasses, and perhaps a little literature
and a few basic services to
help guests navigate the site. They
might not always have been inspiring,
but those buildings succeeded
on basic terms at least, and they
paved the way for what we refer to
as " interpretive centers " today.
From Visitor Center to
Interpretive Center
Beginning in the 1990s, we started
to think about this typology of interpretive
centers in a new way. Put
succinctly, the difference between
the visitor centers of the past and
an interpretive center is that, while
the former is typically little more
than a nondescript box with information
inside it, the latter provides
a comprehensive informational
environment that begins with the
building and its surroundings, and
then extends to every aspect of its
interior. A good example of this
is the Fort McHenry Visitor and
Education
Center
in
Baltimore.
Designed in 2011 by GWWO Architects,
the project was intended
to be a destination - a landmark
that would drive traffic to the site
and then actively engage visitors
from the moment they arrive. At
Fort McHenry, home to the original
star-spangled
banner,
the
structure's
curved, flag-like façade
begins to tell the story of the place
even before the guests go inside.
42 Parks & Recreation | NOVEMBER 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
PHOTO COURTESY OF GWWO ARCHITECTS & RTA

November 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2022 - Parks & Recreation

November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
November 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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