Butterfly Pavilion & Insect Center

Westminster, Colorado

 
 

Butterfly Pavilion & Insect Center - Westminster, CO

  • Live Butterfly Exhibit, Research & Educational Facility, Classroom, Gallery, Gift Shop & Snack Bar

  • 18,000 SF - Architectural, Structural, Civil & Interior Design Services

    • The Butterfly Pavilion & Insect Center is a unique project to this region. The project is a non-profit venture by the Rocky Mountain Butterfly Consortium with assistance from the City of Westminster. It is modeled after a handful of facilities throughout the country that offer direct public contact and observation of live butterflies in a natural, botanical garden setting.

    • This facility combines the public conservatory, gift shop and snack bar with a research and educational component. This includes: a classroom for lectures & research, an insect center with beehive and a wide array of exotic insects, rearing rooms for staff handling, care and study of many species and administrative areas. The site is developed as part of the City of Westminster's Civic Park, along Big Dry Creek at 104th Avenue and US36. Site development incorporates outdoor "butterfly gardens" with the adjacent open space and path system.

    • The 18,000 SF building had a very restrictive budget. A design/build team worked together from the project start to develop economical building systems and project schedules to accommodate the full building program. Architectural detailing concepts evolved from the patterning and form of the Butterfly Wing to convey the project's unique function. The conservatory's high humidity, tropical environment is based on a simple natural convection greenhouse environment. The space is thermally controlled through an on-site, computerized weather station that automatically operates sun shades, ridge vents, misting and water systems, to control the environment.