Envisioned to exude southern hospitality, the $13 millionHuntsville Botanical Garden Guest Welcome Center is set toincrease attendance and enhance the overall visitor experi-ence when it opens in 2017. Located near Alabama’srenowned U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the 30,000-sq. ft.(2,787 sq m) building will include a great hall entrance, threeevent facilities, a larger gift shop and café, along with much-needed storage and office space.

“This project is not only going to change the garden, ourmembers’ pride and volunteers’ spirit, but also our commu-nity,” said Melissa Riley, Huntsville Botanical Garden vicepresident of visitor experience. “How companies are able torecruit for quality of life, the ability to bring more confer-ences to the area, tourism for Huntsville and the state ofAlabama, more support in ways no one can imagine for arearetirees, outreach and education and our community’s abili-ty to show how supportive they are in their investments willbe greatly increased, due to this iconic project.”

In January 2016, a groundbreaking ceremony was heldfor the new center, featuring members of the project team.

“Seeing this construction and knowing that it was broughton by the community, is not only encouraging, but also val-idating to all of the founders, volunteers and staff that put inso much hard work and effort,” said Riley. “We have foundmore and more energy from the welcomed excitement that

the project brings every time the story is told, backed imme-diately with ‘How can we be a part of it?’”

With limited space and continued interest in the gardens,officials realized the time to build was now.

“An understanding of the growth of the garden, the longneeded expanded space togreet and meet the needs ofthe growing number of visi-tors and demand for highervolume venue space in thecommunity has beenreceived with generosity andenthusiasm,” said Riley

“It will be a welcomingiconic match to the incredibleoasis we simply refer to as‘The Garden.’”

Construction workersbroke ground on the projectat the beginning of the year.Thayer Phillips, HuntsvilleBotanical Garden site projectmanager, said one of thebiggest challenges on the jobinvolves the schedule.

“We’re working within avery aggressive timeline, inorder to keep from disruptingcertain activities and eventsthat will happen throughout

the building process. As a nonprofit, we rely on certainfundraisers to keep our doors open, and our largest fundrais-er of the year is an event call ‘Galaxy of Lights,’ an amazingdisplay of lights, over two miles long that winds through thegarden. It’s run almost completely by dedicated volunteersand has become a holiday tradition for people in the area.Because of this, we knew that we had to work around theirschedule and keep certain goals and dates in order to keepfrom affecting the operation or their schedule.

Other challenges have come from coordinating a tempo-rary entrance road.

“Our main entrance road is being rebuilt as a part of theproject and needed to have traffic diverted until it’s fin-ished,” said Phillips. “The Madison County public worksteam helped us to build the road, as well as a private con-tractor, but we had to build the road on our neighbors prop-erty, a public P-8 school, so getting the easements and hav-ing the road built to their spec and on our timeline was some-thing that required a lot of time and effort in both the plan-

Construction in Full Bloom on Botanical Garden Center

ALABAMA STATE EDITION A Supplement to:

Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479

see GARDEN page 6

Huntsville Botanical Garden photoEnvisioned to exude southern hospitality, the $13 million Huntsville Botanical Garden Guest Welcome Center isset to increase attendance and enhance the overall visitor experience when it opens in 2017.

Matheny Goldmon Architecture rendering A rendering of the com-pleted HuntsvilleBotanical Garden GuestWelcome Center.

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April 272016

Vol. XXIX • No. 9

Page 2 • April 27, 2016 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Alabama State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

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Challenges Include Coordinating Temporary Entrance ning phase and during construction. We havea great relationship with our local govern-ment and with the Huntsville City schoolsystem, so I credit the successful completionof the road to that.

“Also, we are not closing down duringconstruction. As we are still open to the pub-lic, we have to make a special effort andcarefully coordinate activities each time anew contractor comes on site. We are veryfamily-oriented and safety is extremelyimportant to us.”

Crews are currently in the process ofmoving dirt and filling, with more than12,000 sq. yds. (10,033 sq m) expected to betransferred during construction. Heavymachinery being used on the projectincludes several different sizes and types ofexcavators, vibratory drum rollers, dozers,backhoe loaders, motorgraders, skid steerloaders, wheel loaders, sweepers, cranes,boom trucks and other pieces of specialtyequipment.

“The building is being built on a concreteslab, atop a prepared clay building pad,”Phillips said. “The building structure ismainly steel and will have a painted brickexterior. There is a lot of hardscape, mostlyconcrete with some brick pavers and naturalstone walls. There also will be a very largearea of landscape/bed areas, as well as someopen areas that will have turf.

“The building pad sits over a large area,some of which was previously a parking lotfor one of our facility rental buildings, andalso sits atop some previous roads. The restof the area was turf. The building will beadjacent to a lake on our property, so thislake has been partially drained to allow forconstruction of a lake overlook and retainingwall. The only demolition items have been

the removal of trees/shrubs, asphalt, curband gutter, a wooden fence that used to act aspart of our controlled access and the removaland relocation of some power panels andelectrical outlets.”

Crews also must be mindful of the ele-ments.

“Until the building has been completed tothe point where it is dried-in and has condi-tioned air blowing, the weather will be ahuge factor during construction. We willhave to take full advantage of the warm anddry days, in order to stay on schedule whenthe bad weather inevitably slows the work.We are working within a very aggressivetimeline, so it’s especially important that wemaximize our productivity during the goodweather days,” Phillips said.

According to Phillips there have not beenany dramatic setbacks since work got under-way.

“There are always unexpected issues thatpop up on a project like this, but having agreat team that pulls together quickly keepsthe project moving.”

The Southern-style building will featureaged columns and elaborate landscaping.According to Paul Matheny, AIA, principal,Matheny Goldmon Architects, “ From theoutset, The Botanical Garden had a clearintent, which was the primary thrust behindthe vision for the project. We were suppliedwith buzzwords and phrases such as ‘time-less, graceful and heart of the garden,’ andtasked with embodying these notions witharchitecture. We were handed the ultimateproject site, and given the opportunity tointroduce a new visitor experience, as wellas a community icon.

“For us, authenticity was paramount. Thedetails and proportions had to be just right toachieve that timeless quality. As designers,

we also chose to be mindful of the types ofevents and experiences the guests wouldenjoy over time in this facility. We proposedunique and interesting spaces, envisioningvery specific activities such as the cutting ofa wedding cake, even during the earliest con-ceptual phases of design. This facility isgoing to be the backdrop of so many impor-tant memories for our community, and wewere zeroed in on getting every little detailjust right.”

The Guest Welcome Center design is con-sistent with the Garden’s master plan, whichincorporates historic columns salvaged fromthe long-since demolished courthouse indowntown Huntsville. The creative teamadhered to a Neoclassical style, but managedto include softer vernacular elements to addwarmth and create a more intimate scale.

“I’m most excited about the carriagehouse feature, which wasn’t actually in therequested building program. It really justemerged from the design process as an ideafor an additional, less formal venue forevents and activities. With large archedwood doors opening to plazas overlookingthe garden during pleasant weather, thisspace will most successfully soften the edgebetween the indoor and outdoor spaces,”said Matheny.

“I hope the Guest Welcome Centerbecomes a point of pride for our local com-munity, and makes a lasting positive impres-sion on the many tourists who visit the gar-den annually.”

The 3,500 sq. ft. (325 sq m) atrium willoffer resources that will improve visitorcheck-in and orientation and streamline theticketing process. The café will provide bothinterior and patio seating, while the gift shopwill more than double its current size.

The grand hall, overlooking the garden,

will be used for meetings, receptions, wed-dings and other events for up to 350 guests.It features a catering kitchen with separateentrance, library, groom’s room, bride’sroom, coatroom, restrooms and a covereddrop-off area. The hall will be one of thelargest private event rental facilities in thearea, and is expected to attract numerousevents to the area.

The glass conservatory will host up to 40guests who are looking for a more privatespace, while the carriage house will have thecapability to open along the east and westside of the building. A catering kitchen, stor-age area, restrooms and side entrance willsupport the facility.

The mezzanine around the main guestcenter is open to the atrium and will offer agallery space for exhibits. This level willinclude offices, restrooms, storage and aconference room with a balcony overlook-ing the garden.

Huntsville Botanical Garden spans morethan 100 acres. Open year-round, it ranks asone of Alabama’s top paid tourist attractions.Huntsville Botanical Garden opened to thepublic in 1988 and currently offers a season-al butterfly house, and aquatic, annual,daylily, fern, herb, perennial, rose and wild-flower gardens, as well as a nature path andflowering dogwood trees.

“The Huntsville Botanical Garden is con-sistently ranked as one of Alabama’s toppaid tourist attractions, and is an essentialelement to Huntsville’s growing tourism andhospitality industry,” Huntsville MayorTommy Battle said. “The Garden’s newGuest Welcome Center will offer additionalunique meeting space for event planners, aswell as showcase the Rocket City’s excep-tional nature offerings.”

“The Huntsville Botanical Garden is asignature point of pride,” said Battle. “Thenew Guest Welcome Center will not onlyoffer event and convention planners addi-tional and beautiful space, it will also serveas a fitting reflection of all the Garden has tooffer as a natural oasis leading intoHuntsville’s city center.”

“Huntsville is fortunate to have four of themost visited tourist attractions in the state,with one being the Botanical Garden,” saidJudy Ryals, president/CEO,Huntsville/Madison County Convention &Visitors Bureau, which promotes the regionas a tourist destination. “The expansion ofthe garden’s dramatic new Guest WelcomeCenter will evoke southern charm. TheConvention & Visitors Bureau is proud ofthe team at the Botanical Garden growingfor the future, and it promises to be a stun-ning achievement for our city.”

(This story also can be found onConstruction Equipment Guide’s Web site atwww.constructionequipmentguide.com.)CEG

Huntsville Botanical Garden photoLocated near Alabama’s renowned U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the 30,000-sq. ft. (2,787 sq m) building will include a greathall entrance, three event facilities, a larger gift shop and café, along with much-needed storage and office space.

GARDEN from page 1

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