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New Pearl Harbor Visitor Center11-23-10 | News

New Pearl Harbor Visitor Center

The upcoming public opening of the new Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and surrounding campus has six new open-air buildings, on track to achieve LEED???????(R)???? Silver certification, will more effectively utilize the Hawaiian trade winds for passive cooling, and better serve the National Park Service in telling the story of the site to its 1.5 million annual visitors.

The Portico Group is thrilled to announce the upcoming public opening of the new Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and surrounding campus. Grand opening events will take place on December 7, 2010. The Portico Group, a Seattle-based interdisciplinary design firm, provided comprehensive design services to the National Park Service and the U.S. Navy for the replacement of the existing visitor center at Pearl Harbor (originally built in 1980).

The six new open-air buildings, on track to achieve LEED???????(R)???? Silver certification, will more effectively utilize the Hawaiian trade winds for passive cooling, and better serve the National Park Service in telling the story of the site to its 1.5 million annual visitors.

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The Memorial and its supporting facilities are included in the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, named by President George W. Bush in December of 2008. Other sites in the Pearl Harbor area, as well as in California and the Pacific Islands, are also designated as part of the national monument. On December 7, 2008, groundbreaking ceremonies commemorated the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The first phase of the project opened in March 2010.

The USS Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor Visitor Center honors the heroism and sacrifice rendered in the face of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, when more than 2,000 Americans were killed. It provides orientation to the site and its history, guiding visitors to the boats that will carry them out to view the battleship. The stunning Memorial, designed by Alfred Preis and built in 1962, stands over the ship that was sunk at its mooring, marking the final resting place for many of its 1,177 crewmen killed that day.

The Memorial has become the most popular visitor attraction in the state of Hawaii, and the annual visitation of ~1.5 million is more than double the carrying capacity of the original 1980 shore-side visitor center. The existing facility has suffered from crowding, structural deterioration and insufficient curatorial and educational space, all of which contribute to the need to expand and replace the visitor center. The Memorial itself will remain while its supporting visitor center facilities are renovated and rebuilt.

Construction on the new Pearl Harbor Visitor Center was awarded to Watts Constructors (Honolulu) in September of 2008, slated to last approximately two years. Construction has been phased to ensure continuous public access to the site.

A new campus: The design of the new visitor center creates a campus-like facility, expanding the areas for visitor gathering, memorial ceremonies and museum exhibits. The project includes the renovation of two orientation theaters and the improvement of visitor amenities. It also provides efficient new administrative areas for park staff. As visitors walk the site, the Memorial itself is never far from view, providing a constant reminder of the park?EUR??,,????'?????<

A powerful story: The iconic events of December 7, 1941, which marked the United States?EUR??,,????'?????<

Set within a larger, yet balanced, narrative of America?EUR??,,????'?????<

A challenging site: The design parameters included some challenges, such as extremely poor foundation soils on the site, significant security considerations, and the requirement that the existing facility remain operable throughout construction. The task of the design team has been to meet these challenges while providing for a state-of-the-art visitor experience.

Sustainability and accessibility ?EUR??,,????'?????<Incorporating universal accessibility and sustainable design principals, the project has been designed to achieve LEED???????(R)???? Silver certification. Passive cooling, use of recycled and recyclable materials, extensive shading systems and energy-efficient equipment and fixtures contribute to the ?EUR??,,????'?????<

A highly collaborative project: While the Navy owns the land and manages the construction process, NPS is the operator of the visitor center and will occupy the facility. Other agencies and organizations, including Pacific Historic Parks (formerly the Arizona Memorial Museum Association), also participated in the design process and have been active in the funding and publicizing of the project. The building and site design team.

For questions or further information email: ltucker@porticogroup.com