Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory
NIAGARA PARKS COMMISSION
Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario
Gross Area: 5,110 m2 [55,000 s.f.]
project AWARDS
- Prix du XXe Siècle Award of Excellence from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 2020
- OAA Award of Excellence 2001
- OALA Award of Excellence 2000
- Steel Institute Award 1997
- GALV Institute North American Award 1997
project concept
Located in the heart of the Niagara Parks Botanical Garden, the Butterfly Conservatory was unprecedented for a northern climate at its construction. Designed to educate and entertain visitors about the life cycle and habitat of butterflies, the programme includes an 11,000 square-foot tropical conservatory where butterflies can be viewed in flight, a visitor orientation component including video theatres and interactive displays, and teaching facilities for the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. Laboratories and specialized greenhouses for rearing butterflies and plants are also provided.
Project Detail
BSN was engaged to provide complete design services of the 55,000s.f. project from concept planning to implementation. Working with a multidisciplinary team of consultants, tasks included a project feasibility review consisting of a high-level evaluation of market capacity, length of stay/visitation projections, capital and operational cost estimates, staffing / operational models, and visitor experience/ facility program development. Operational considerations included the integration of hands-on teaching facilities for the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture and new greenhouse production facilities to service both butterfly and botanical garden operations to realize broad operational synergies.
The Butterfly Conservatory is an immersive all-ages experience focusing on butterflies’ beauty, lifecycle and habitat considerations. Visitor experience in the display house is organized within a compact form that is three-dimensionally developed as a ‘ terrain’ to intensify immersive qualities, mitigate crowd adjacency and create a memorable experience worth repeating. The facility was opened to the public within 26 months of being awarded the commission.
Technical Features
This state-of-the-art facility is designed to accommodate a tropical environment within a Canadian climate characterized by extreme hot and cold weather. The mechanical and electrical systems maintain optimum environmental conditions for the butterflies and plants while accommodating the comfort needs of its visitors. The “green” potential of the systems has been maximized through careful design of the building envelope and by employing a multi-tiered systems approach which incorporates passive solar energy, natural thermo-cycling and ventilation, evaporative cooling, and thermal storage. The energy performance of the facility has exceeded design expectations. The primary cladding materials are smooth and rough limestone quarried from the nearby Niagara Escarpment.
An all-round four-season success, it consistently exceeds ‘upper limit’ levels of 250,000 annual paid visitations, with levels of peak paid visitation in excess of 500,000. Capital investment in the facility was recovered in under 5 years. After more than 20 years of operation within the highly competitive Niagara Falls tourism market, TripAdvisor consistently rated the Butterfly Conservatory among the top attractions.
