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National Park Service – Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Visitor Education and Museum/Research Facility, Florissant, CO

COASTAL built a new visitor center at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado, a site renowned for its extraordinary fossil deposits. This state-of-the-art, 4,422 square foot facility achieved LEED Gold certification, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.

The visitor center is designed to enhance the educational experience for visitors, featuring a welcoming reception area, public restrooms, an engaging exhibit space, a paleontology laboratory, a collections storage room, offices, and additional storage space. Its construction incorporates several energy-saving technologies, including natural daylighting, a radiant floor heating system powered by evacuated tube solar panels, a solar ventilation system, and a 10 kW solar array on the building’s roof.

The original visitors center was demolished after the hazardous materials were removed.  This remote project had several different constraints that COASTAL was able to overcome. The project site stood at 6,000 feet in elevation, 1.5 hours from a metropolitan area. The site was also influenced by herds of wild animals and disturbed by a wildfire. COASTAL utilized our experience to mitigate all of these constraints for successful completion.

This project underscores our dedication to creating spaces that not only serve the public, but also respect and preserve the natural environment. The visitor center at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument invites visitors to explore and learn about the wonders of the past in a facility that looks towards the future.