Lake | Flato Architects

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center

Lake|Flato Architects

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Landscapede

STRUCTURAL
Datum Engineers

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Manhattan Construction Florida

PHOTOGRAPHS
Lara Swimmer

AREA
14000 ft²

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Naples, United States

CATEGORY
Visitor Center, Sustainability

Text description provided by architect.

The Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center, sits delicately upon a world class, 160-acre botanical garden.

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer
Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer

The vision for the gardens sought to preserve 160-acres of natural resources from conversion to urban development space.

The visitor center continues a legacy of preservation by partnering with local ecosystem in an environmentally responsible way.

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer
Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer

Wooded pavilions crafted from local and durable sinker cypress entwine throughout lush gardens and plant collections to create an immersive and engaging experience for visitors and researchers as well as an enticing venue for events.

As visitors enter through an intimate walkway that meanders through plantlife, buildings are scaled as a back-drop to the larger landscape and the program is broken down into a series of smaller buildings so visitors will be continually engaged by the restored natural habitats.

The visitor center has 14,000-square-feet of interior space for ticketing, retail, exhibit and cafe/dining with 16,000-square-feet of exterior areas.

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer
Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer

All circulation exterior with trellised gathering spaces, the center is immersed in restored natural habitats and Gardens with Latitude — lush vegetation from seven tropic regions weaves throughout the park demonstrating habitat diversity.

The garden’s spine, a corridor of aquatic plants, the River of Grass pays reverence to the Everglades — South Florida’s most dominant landscape feature — while it filters stormwater at the heart of the garden. Walkways thoughtfully terminate onto pavilions that overhang and float in lush fields of flora.

Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer
Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
© Lara Swimmer

Providing strong contextual place to the garden, a wood-paneled Prow above the cultivated greenery gives visitors views of Everglade palms below and distant glimpses of sawgrass wetlands beyond.


Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
Master Plan
Naples Botanical Garden Visitor Center
Floor Plan

Lake | Flato Architects
T +1 210 2273335
Lake | Flato Architects
311 3rd St, San Antonio, TX 78205, United States