Elise Chapin Chattanooga Nature Interpretive Center
location: Chattanooga, TN
client: Chattanooga Audubon Society
date: 1996 (competition, unbuilt)
contact: hMa hanrahanMeyers architects
The Interpretive Center is a small museum designed as the winning entry in a national design competition. The Elise Chapin Sanctuary Interpretive Center is also a public educational and meeting facility and is situated at the entrance to a natural sanctuary located near Chattanooga, TN.
The program for the Interpretive Center includes two galleries for the display of Native American and natural artifacts. One gallery is designed to house a permanent collection, and a second gallery is for traveling exhibits. The Solar Panel roof of the lobby is an important part of the Nature Interpretive Center; supplying energy to the building while it is also an active demonstration project about solar power.
The building has a wood and steel structure, and is sheathed in a ship-lapped wood siding.