Ritsema Associates

Summary

Size:

64,850 S.F.

Type:

Municipal

Definition:

Addition

Budget:

$9 million

Date Completed:

07/01/2000

Description

Since its opening in 1995, Frederik Meijer Gardens has quite literally blossomed, becoming a major regional, and even national, attraction. Four years after constructing the original facility, an expansion was undertaken that more than doubled its size. Phase II construction included a two-story addition with a glass-canopied public entrance, an outdoor presentation area for the 13-ton equine sculpture designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, and a new main drive from the East Beltline.

Design Features:
- The lower level addition includes administrative offices, a bride's room, a storage area, an exhibit design and production studio and a matting and framing room.
- The first floor features gift shops, a kitchen and cafe with a dining patio, meeting rooms, a scultpure gallery, an atrium with a 91-foot-long skylight, and a 7,000-square-foot multi-purpose room.
- Grounds improvements include a new main drive off the East Beltline, a service drive, a presentation area for the Da Vinci horse sculpture, a ten-foot-wide walkway to and from the presentation plaza, retaining walls, and an underground irrigation and underdrain systems in the lawn.
- The outdoor entryway features a glass-covered canopy supported by the 14-ton tree-shaped structural members cast on site. The west wall of the entry shields visitors from prevailing winds and a snowmelt system is incorporated into the entrance walk

Awards: This project was given an Award of Excellence from the Western Michigan chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors.