Thousand Springs Visitor Center

The design for the Thousand Spring Visitor Center is inspired by the surrounding landscape and evokes the natural and cultural history of this region of the Snake River Valley. The building is simple in form, yet rich in spatial experience and is defined by two primary wood forms that create the identity of the building. The secondary end walls are clad with large steel shingles that are weathering to a rusted finish. The shingles replicate the shadow patterns of the surrounding basalt cliffs. The 3,400 sf building program is efficiently organized by a central lobby area with offices to the west side, the interpretive exhibit gallery to the east side and the entry and restrooms to the north. The main entry is positioned between two wood clad forms, aligned with the axis providing a view to the Hagerman Fossil Beds across the Snake River Valley - where the Hagerman Horse and other Pliocene Epoch fossils have been discovered depicting a time when this arid valley was a rainforest. The main lobby has space for Idaho State Parks interpretive elements, administrative services for the park and a retail space. The adjoining Interpretive Gallery features the National Park Service’s Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument artifacts and interpretive story about the history of the surrounding geology. A large steel canopy extends to the south and connects the visitor to the immediate landscape of Billingsley Creek and provides outdoor educational and interpretive space. Interpretive trails wind around the building and provide views of Billingsley Creek and the basalt cliffs of the Snake River canyon.