ComeBackMudPuddles
05-11-2007, 09:44 AM
ORDA has the following article in its newsroom about the new conference center in Lake Placid. Looks like it could be a really nice design and excellent addition to the area.
Has anyone seen any proposed sketches of the building? Maybe a link to another article?
Thanks.
A New Place: Conference Center at Lake Placid
Tuesday, May. 1, 2007
Two-time Olympic host to embark on 81,000 square foot facility
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Nestled into the hill rising above Main Street and adjacent to the 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena at the Olympic Center, the new conference center to be built by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) will be a welcome addition to the visitor industry facilities of Lake Placid and its surrounding region. The conference center will replace the now obsolete figure skating ice rink with a new practice ice rink (still bearing the Lussi name), a grand exhibition hall, meeting rooms and new Convention and Visitors Bureau offices and a Visitors Center. The new function spaces will now allow Lake Placid to host meetings, seminars, banquets and exhibits that otherwise could not be accommodated in area hotels.
The new conference center addition to the Olympic Center was designed by HNTB Architecture, a firm nationally recognized for its convention, conference and sports center projects that fit well into the communities they serve. The building strengthens the Olympic Center as a key anchor in Lake Placid, and honors it’s neighboring 1932 and 1980 rinks by respecting the fact that their designs reflect the eras when they were built. The three structures will work together to form the civic, public assembly heart of Lake Placid.
“The new conference center is both a dramatic destination and a sensitive neighbor in our town and village,” said Ted Blazer, President and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority. “This beautiful building will embody a sense of our civic and natural life, and our renewed commitment to serving both residents and visitors to Lake Placid.”
The idea of the building’s design, according to HNTB architects Don Grinberg and Vlasta Poch, is inspired by the topography, geology and other natural features of the Adirondacks. The building is made to feel as if it were an outcropping of the site, with its crystalline façade of glass and stone enclosing the expressive wood volume of the large interior meeting spaces. Other materials used throughout the complex create an environment for the user that is conducive to the professional learning, networking, banqueting and entertainment that will take place inside.
The first floor of the conference center has two entrances from Main Street – one leading up to the 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena, and the other serving as the main entrance to the conference center. Upon entering, the visitor will experience a dramatic, naturally lit atrium which conveys a sense of how the building is tucked into the hill. A suite of 10 meeting rooms is located at this level to be used independently for smaller meetings or in association with the larger assembly spaces upstairs. As in the building it replaces, the CVB’s Visitor’s Center and offices will be housed at this level.
Moving upstairs on the dramatic escalator, grand stairway or by elevator, the user will arrive at the main level of the facility which is about 20 feet above street level. The glass-enclosed, pre-function lobby provides extensive views outdoors in order to allow the sense of place - the natural features - to be the major feature of the experience of being in the building. This upper public area serves as the organizing space that leads to the dramatic 18,000 square-foot multi-purpose hall that lies behind its wood enclosure. This column-free space will be highly flexible to accommodate an ice rink and a variety of subdivided meeting spaces. The entire complex of 81,000 square feet will be served by a new full-service main banquet kitchen, which will also be able to support the 1932 arena when it is used for events that do not require its ice sheet. The new conference center addition will help improve the entire Olympic Center’s functionality, sense of welcome and economic impact.
The contemporary design is visible along the axis of Main Street as it bends at Olympic Center Drive, yet the mass of the building hugs the site low enough to preserve the distant views of the High Peaks. The solidity of the building’s stone base sets off the transparency of the glass-enclosed upper level. "
Has anyone seen any proposed sketches of the building? Maybe a link to another article?
Thanks.
A New Place: Conference Center at Lake Placid
Tuesday, May. 1, 2007
Two-time Olympic host to embark on 81,000 square foot facility
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Nestled into the hill rising above Main Street and adjacent to the 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena at the Olympic Center, the new conference center to be built by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) will be a welcome addition to the visitor industry facilities of Lake Placid and its surrounding region. The conference center will replace the now obsolete figure skating ice rink with a new practice ice rink (still bearing the Lussi name), a grand exhibition hall, meeting rooms and new Convention and Visitors Bureau offices and a Visitors Center. The new function spaces will now allow Lake Placid to host meetings, seminars, banquets and exhibits that otherwise could not be accommodated in area hotels.
The new conference center addition to the Olympic Center was designed by HNTB Architecture, a firm nationally recognized for its convention, conference and sports center projects that fit well into the communities they serve. The building strengthens the Olympic Center as a key anchor in Lake Placid, and honors it’s neighboring 1932 and 1980 rinks by respecting the fact that their designs reflect the eras when they were built. The three structures will work together to form the civic, public assembly heart of Lake Placid.
“The new conference center is both a dramatic destination and a sensitive neighbor in our town and village,” said Ted Blazer, President and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority. “This beautiful building will embody a sense of our civic and natural life, and our renewed commitment to serving both residents and visitors to Lake Placid.”
The idea of the building’s design, according to HNTB architects Don Grinberg and Vlasta Poch, is inspired by the topography, geology and other natural features of the Adirondacks. The building is made to feel as if it were an outcropping of the site, with its crystalline façade of glass and stone enclosing the expressive wood volume of the large interior meeting spaces. Other materials used throughout the complex create an environment for the user that is conducive to the professional learning, networking, banqueting and entertainment that will take place inside.
The first floor of the conference center has two entrances from Main Street – one leading up to the 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena, and the other serving as the main entrance to the conference center. Upon entering, the visitor will experience a dramatic, naturally lit atrium which conveys a sense of how the building is tucked into the hill. A suite of 10 meeting rooms is located at this level to be used independently for smaller meetings or in association with the larger assembly spaces upstairs. As in the building it replaces, the CVB’s Visitor’s Center and offices will be housed at this level.
Moving upstairs on the dramatic escalator, grand stairway or by elevator, the user will arrive at the main level of the facility which is about 20 feet above street level. The glass-enclosed, pre-function lobby provides extensive views outdoors in order to allow the sense of place - the natural features - to be the major feature of the experience of being in the building. This upper public area serves as the organizing space that leads to the dramatic 18,000 square-foot multi-purpose hall that lies behind its wood enclosure. This column-free space will be highly flexible to accommodate an ice rink and a variety of subdivided meeting spaces. The entire complex of 81,000 square feet will be served by a new full-service main banquet kitchen, which will also be able to support the 1932 arena when it is used for events that do not require its ice sheet. The new conference center addition will help improve the entire Olympic Center’s functionality, sense of welcome and economic impact.
The contemporary design is visible along the axis of Main Street as it bends at Olympic Center Drive, yet the mass of the building hugs the site low enough to preserve the distant views of the High Peaks. The solidity of the building’s stone base sets off the transparency of the glass-enclosed upper level. "