Anne of Green Gables Visitors Centre

The Green Gables House Visitor Centre in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island is located on the property that was the setting for Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. Designed to accommodate a growing number of guests in one of Canada's most visited federal parks, the project adds much-needed exhibit and gathering space by serving as the main arrival point for visitors and framing the view of the original farmhouse.

The architecture is inspired by its rural context through vernacular barn forms, connected by a single-story lobby, all resting on a solid wood structure. This building, the largest on the site, creates a relationship of scale and age as visitors move to the southern end of the property. Two circulation paths create organizing axes that converge on Green Gables Farm, guiding visitors and establishing a simple organization of the site. The building materials are contemporary, but the overall form of the building is complementary to the surrounding property without dominating its historic focal point.

Designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, the center uses locally sourced wood in the form of exposed framing, eastern white cedar shingles, local pine, thermal wood and maple for interior spaces. The idea was to promote natural solid wood construction, stimulate the local economy and minimize emissions, while presenting a building structure that educates visitors and showcases warm, open interior spaces.

The main public space is organized around the lobby atrium, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Exhibit Hall, a gift store, and public restrooms. Key aspects of this design are the visual and physical connection to the outdoors and the use of locally sourced exposed wood products.

As a seasonal tourist destination, summer weather was a major influence on the design. The lobby is flooded with natural light through clerestory windows, glazed entrances and adjacent spaces. During the warmer months, the entrances can be opened to the outside, extending the public space and allowing summer breezes to naturally cool the interior areas. In the exhibition space, extensive east-facing glazing provides abundant natural light and reduces the need for artificial lighting. Each public space is flooded with natural light that reflects the warm tones of the wood, contrasted only by the sand-colored PEI concrete floors and white-painted walls.

Overall, the building not only showcased the history of Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery, but also utilized some of the most innovative mass timber systems in the local market. The forestry sector is an important part of Atlantic Canada's economy, and this building will continue to provide a glimpse of what is possible in the region.