SHKS Architects' rehabilitation and addition to the W. W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory is a multi-phase project to expand access, reduce energy use, improve life-safety, and accommodate a growing botanical collection. Wright Park is now a 26-acre urban refuge on the edge of Tacoma’s downtown core and Hilltop neighborhood. The conservatory is a steel and glass building listed, along with the park, on the National Register of Historic Places.
The project for the Seymour Conservatory expansion in Tacoma will more than triple the size of the landmark botanical institution. The conservatory has occupied a prominent site within Wright Park since 1908. Both the park and the building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Extensive stakeholder involvement – the general public, the Tacoma Landmarks Commission, steering committee and Metro Parks Tacoma – evidences the importance of the building.
(Image: 1918 postcard)
The design consists of a quiet rectangular entry attached to the existing conservatory and providing access, below grade, to a new elliptical dome.
The new dome's long axis is aligned with the original conservatory's secondary axis, preserving the historic building as the only centralizing form in Wright Park. The location of the ellipse’s long axis also parallels an important view corridor, preserving the view of the rotunda from a pond below.
The new elliptical dome fits within an unshaded solar access zone and minimizes impact to existing Wright Park trees. The new dome also refers to the curved form of the original rotunda while respecting the uniqueness of the centralized dome. The addition of a new curved form complements the historic building and maintains the existing rotunda as the highest structure in Wright Park.
The existing historic conservatory will be rehabilitated to upgrade structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, including maintenance and repairs to aging building elements. Reconstruction of the original facades will be completed according to historic documentation.
A new visitor entry sequence includes a revised passenger drop-off, an open plaza, and a new lobby with gift shop to welcome visitors.
New below-grade exhibits, offices, and mechanical support spaces will be served by a new elevator and stair as visitors continue their journey to the new elliptical plant display dome.
The project will weave an internal horticultural route beside and beneath the park and park paths. Landscape improvements include new site grading to accommodate pedestrian paths, a gathering patio, and a rainwater harvesting system.
Construction of the project is planned in three successive phases. The first phase of construction will renovate the historic conservatory and add an interim restroom until the next phase – the new entry pavilion and below grade spaces – is complete. The final phase will construct and connect the new dome to house expanded botanical displays.
Separating the gift shop from the rest of the conservatory becomes part of the educational experience: a vegetated wall that forms a photographic backdrop for special events and a display wall for sales. The vegetated wall is a unique habitat and a demonstration of botanical density that becomes increasingly important in a changing climate.
The conservatory is important to young botanists hungry for plant knowledge and to the general community as a space for various celebrations.
As a building and site listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the community has a highly developed attachment to and investment in the conservatory.
