Rehabilitation of Lewis and Clark Visitor Center

The Visitor Center (VC) at Lewis and Clark National Park (LEWI) was constructed in 1963 as part of “Mission 66” and underwent a major expansion and renovation in 1996 to cover approximately 12,200 square feet. Numerous life safety and accessibility issues were present and needed correction. The Visitor Center, a 12,200 square foot building housing museum area, movie theater, multi-purpose room, administrative offices, cooperating agency bookstore and offices, curatorial storage, and library, had not received any major rework since the last expansion in 1996 and accumulated numerous deficiencies in life safety and accessibility areas as a result. Annual visitation at LEWI is approximately 250,000 people and nearly all visitors utilize the Visitor Center during their time at the park. Visitors arrive individually by car or as part of a large group by bus resulting in sudden spikes in occupancy; visitors arriving at one time and departing in kind. This suddenness of changes in visitation create stresses on the building’s critical systems including plumbing, electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).
The project includes the installation replacement of eight exterior doors and 18 interior doors to meet the Standard for Opening Protectives and Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS); reconfiguration of two public restrooms to meet ABAAS standards and to provide space for a unisex family restroom; renovate theater seating, audio, and visual systems to meet UniversalDesign standards. Energy efficiency improvement includes: replacement of the existing mix of 250 halogen, 30 incandescent and 120 fluorescent light bulbs with more energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) lighting; replacement of fourteen (14) single panewindows with dual pane; replacement of two electrical cabinet wall heaters and five packaged terminal air conditioning units withhigh efficiency heat pumps; and installation of a humidity and temperature control system for the Park’s curatorial collections

Services Provided by HECO Engineers:

• Project Management
• Architecture Engineering
• Survey
• Civil Engineering
• Title I Report (Preliminary Engineering)
• Title II Construction Documents