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New
Homestead Heritage Center
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The Design (Plowshare cutting
through prairie)
The
design of the new Heritage Center is based on the homesteading experience and is
distinguished form on the landscape. The building "grows from the
land". The entire visitor experience will reinforce the homesteading story:
the site, building and exhibit provide one seamless experience. The visitor
experience will accentuate and juxtapose the modern cultivated fields and the
restored prairie.
Just as sustainability was a way of
life for the early homesteaders, so it is for this facility. The compact floor
plan can be efficiently conditioned by the central mechanical space. Setting the
building into the topography with one level completely below grade takes
advantage of the constant earth temperature to reduce heating and cooling loads
while providing a necessary haven from tornadoes. Day lighting is used
extensively in the lobby and will be utilized for all other occupied spaces as
well to reduce energy consumption and improve the internal environment. The
simple slope of the roof makes efficient rainwater collection possible, which
could then be used within the Center or for irrigation.
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