Quarry Visitor Center Receives LEED Gold Certification

The Quarry Visitor Center in Dinosaur National Monument recently received a LEED Gold certification.

NPS

News Release Date: July 5, 2012

Contact: Dan Johnson, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services, [phone]

Dinosaur, CO - "Dinosaur National Monument is pleased to announce that the new Quarry Visitor Center received a LEED Gold certification," stated Superintendent Mary Risser. "LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The new Quarry Visitor Center boasts new "green" energy saving aspects, including increased water efficiency, reduced CO₂ emissions, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts."

"We incorporated sustainability into the building's design and construction and then the operation and maintenance of the building," stated Risser. "We salvaged materials from the demolished visitor center and shuttle waiting area. For example, the tongue and groove flooring in the old visitor center was salvaged and is now the ceiling in the new visitor center's exhibit hall and auditorium. The stone walls at the shuttle waiting area were incorporated in the new visitor center's exterior walls and masonry at the new visitor center. The cement blocks from the old visitor center were crushed and used for the trails around the new visitor center."

Other components of the sustainable design involved using local materials; the stone for the masonry comes from a quarry in Masonville, Colorado and landscaping boulders from quarries in Maybell and on Blue Mountain. Native plants are being used for a water efficient landscaping. The Yellow cedar used in the large beams across the ceiling came from sustainable forests.

"One of the more unique sustainable features is that the base of an old railroad car is now the bridge between the parking lot and the new visitor center," Risser explained. "We took an old railroad car, placed it on the bridge abutments, painted it, poured a walking surface, added railings, and finished the abutments with the same stone as was used on the exterior of the visitor center."

Utility systems were designed to be as efficient as possible to reduce operational and maintenance costs. The visitor center uses a photovoltaic system to off-set a portion of the energy costs. Skylights provide natural lighting while low-flow restroom fixtures were installed to reduce water consumption.

If you have any questions regarding our new Quarry Visitor Center or need any other information on Dinosaur National Monument, call us at [phone]. You can also find us on facebook or follow DinosaurNPS on twitter.