PRESCOTT, AZ-CATALYST ARCHITECTURE was recently chosen to design the Visitor's Center for the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. This will be the third LEED-Seeking US Fish & Wildlife Visitor's Center project for which CATALYST has been commissioned.

The Refuge was established in 1946 on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma on the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. Encompassing approximately 12,000 acres of marsh, upland and farmland, the Refuge is used extensively by a variety of waterfowl, deer, turkeys, bobcats and hawks.

Hagerman NWR's original visitor's center was built in 1984, but the structure was condemned the very next year due to the extremely expansive clay soils in the area. The Refuge has been waiting since then for a new visitor's center, made possible now by ARRA funds.

The LEED-seeking project is intended to be a light and airy architectural representation of the waters and birds that make the Refuge memorable. The design, by CATALYST Principal Jeff Zucker, incorporates expressions of the area's vernacular architecture with an extensive use of Texas limestone and agricultural references such as half-round gutters. The climate-responsive design will integrate water harvesting to irrigate seasonal shading plants that stretch over the Center's curving trellises. A dominant glass element, designed to optimize views of the lake, slopes slightly to reflect the ground, thereby minimizing bird-strikes.

For More Information:
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge Image Portfolio

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CATALYST ARCHITECTURE is an award winning, full-service sustainable design firm with offices in Prescott, and Flagstaff Arizona. The firm specializes in master planning, public/tribal, commercial, and custom residential work, with an emphasis on high-performance, resource-efficient design and construction practices.  With both principals Jeffrey L. Zucker and Matthew B. Ackerman LEED accredited, Catalyst is committed to the thoughtful integration of our natural and built environments.