Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center wins AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Honor Award

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden was recognized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) this week with an AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Honor Award for Institutional Architecture. Honor awards are the highest designation of award a project can receive in a particular category.

The Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, which opened in 2023, represents a bold, transformative vision for the Missouri Botanical Garden and its mission. Inspired by the history of the Garden and its extensive plant collection, the visitor center blurs boundaries between indoors and outdoors. Biophilic design elements, including a custom-designed scrim perforated in a pattern inspired by tree canopies, are incorporated throughout the building to create an immersive visitor experience.

In their award comments, AIA jury members called the project “both restrained and beautiful in its simplicity” with “wonderful use of natural elements inside to connect to the exterior gardens.”

“There is a wonderful layering of spaces, from the entrance through the vertical main lobby to the gardens beyond,” they wrote. The jury also commented on the building’s site integration which skillfully addresses accessibility challenges of a nine-foot grade difference, and the clear site plan and programming.

Congratulations to the talented design team who worked on this project!

Read more about the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center:

• Biophilic Design: Infusing Nature into the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center
• Designing the Scrim at the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center 
• Designing for Transition at the Missouri Botanical Garden