The Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Interpretive Center is the first platinum-level LEED certified building to be constructed in the National Park System. Located in Grand Teton National Park, the 7,500 sq. ft. facility is the focal point of the 1,106-acre preserve donated to the Park Service by the Rockefeller family. Laurance Rockefeller was the son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The parcel of land had served as the Rockefeller family retreat.

Open May through September, the Center is self-guiding with the goal of awakening the senses so that visitors may gain a heightened appreciation of the surrounding landscape. In both medium and message, the building advances environmental responsibility.

The roof of the L-shaped building is clad with 8,000 sq. ft. of RHEINZINK® Pre-Weathered Graphite-Gray Double Lock Standing Seam Panels. The façade is clad with 2,000 sq. ft. of RHEINZINK Pre-Weathered Graphite-Gray Flat Lock Tiles. The RHEINZINK also covers seasonal “snow shutters” that are used to protect the building during the extreme winter months.

The building was designed by Carney Logan Burke Architects of Jackson, WY. The project was a “seven-year labor of love,” according to Kevin Burke, principal. “The goal was to allow the power of nature to reinvigorate the human spirit,” Burke said. “That became the calling card of the design and impacted the selection of materials used. We looked for materials that would be around for 200 years.”

Fabrication and installation of the RHEINZINK was done by Salt River Roofing, Afton, WY.