Burden Welcome Center at LSU
The Burden Welcome Center will serve visitors to the adjacent Botanic Gardens, Rural Life Museum, LSU AgCenter, and various other community and cultural destinations. Intended to provide visitors with a clear prelude to the many destinations dispersed throughout the 440-acre property in the heart of Louisiana’s capital city, the Center will also offer an overview of the rich history of the Burden family and the Burden property, one of the largest donations ever made to LSU and the surrounding community.
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In honoring the Center as a contemplative retreat to nature, the design team sought to create a space that evokes curiosity and excitement for the surrounding landscape while providing a clear point of arrival and orientation. The design unfolds from the landscape, embedding the Center within its surroundings rather than placing it on top. Iconic features, such as the dogtrot, reference the vernacular architecture already present on the grounds. The building is oriented true north, allowing the dogtrot to frame the existing and future rose garden. Rainwater is showcased as it is funneled into a rain garden through an enlarged scupper on the east side of the building.
A showcase for environmental education and a multi-layered destination for events, art, recreation, and renewal, the sustainably focused Center will feature 3,000 SF of covered outdoor space, gallery space, an occupiable green roof, a small dining area and café, a gift shop, visitor restrooms, and offices for Botanic Gardens administrative staff.
