Gateway to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Weddle Gilmore was selected for the commission through a public-qualifications-based selection process.

It was critical that the site and building design be highly tuned to the specific conditions of this sensitive desert site. As a result, the design process involved a significant amount of time mapping and exploring the site. Water drainage patterns and vegetation patterns drove much of the site and building design.

We have a series of recent projects that explore the relationship between the rapid development that has occurred in the Phoenix metro area and the preservation of native desert habitat. Defining natural corridors and edges within our city is critical to retaining the unique Sonoran Desert character of our community. Changing the perceptions and attitudes about the importance of retaining desert habitat and providing opportunities for nature-based recreation and education. It is our hope that by creating designs with intimate relationships to the landscape that people will begin to re-value the desert.

One of the key project goals was for the GATEWAY-certified LEED Platinum-to act as a model for contemporary sustainable desert architecture. The site design and construction process went to great lengths to preserve and protect the sensitive habitat of the Sonoran Desert. Rainwater is harvested and stored during the winter rains and the summer monsoon and provides 100% of the water necessary for landscape irrigation. The PV array generates 100% of the annual energy demand for the buildings and site. Walls are constructed of rammed earth material that was harvested from the site excavations for the parking areas and building foundations. These environmental strategies are then presented through interpretive graphics located in the entry plaza to provide educational opportunities for Preserve visitors.