merchants millpond

location: Gatesville, NC
completion date: July 2009
project team:
Frank Harmon
Erin Sterling

problem statement

The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation needed a 7500-square-foot Visitor Center plus an Open Air Classroom Building at Merchants Millpond State Park in Gatesville, NC. Merchants Millpond is a Registered Natural Heritage Area that covers 1900 acres and includes the millpond and part of Lassiter Swamp. It was established as a state park so that its diverse biological, scenic, archaeological, geological and recreational values could be protected. The Division of Parks and Recreation is charged with preserving these values and providing park experiences that promote pride in and understanding of North Carolina’s natural heritage.

our design response

Merchants Millpond has a variety of exceptional and unusual scenic resources.
The Visitor Center is sited uphill from the pond and parallel to the bank so that every space has a breathtaking view along the southeast side of the building. A welcoming porch is also located along that elevation so visitors can easily step outside and enjoy the surroundings. Clerestory windows on the northwest face of the building bring ambient light into the reception area, lobby, offices, auditorium, classroom and exhibit space. From the classroom and the porch, a trail leads to the detached, Open Air Classroom Building at the edge of the pond.

True to its mission of preserving the natural environment, the NC Division of Parks and Recreation wanted the Visitor Center to be as green, or sustainable, as possible. The Building is pursuing LEED Gold certification. Green features include: geothermal heat pump, rain water cisterns for landscape irrigation, passive solar heating, local materials (ex. cypress wood siding) and recycled materials (ex. heart pine flooring and steel).