Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

The USFWS Valle de Oro (VdO) National Wildlife Refuge was established in 2012 as the first urban wildlife refuge in the Southwest. Located on 570 acres of former dairy farmland along the Rio Grande River in the South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, VdO provides unique environmental education and recreation opportunities for the community, balanced with ongoing efforts to transform this agricultural land into a mosaic of native habitats and an oasis for both wildlife and people.

The project included master planning and initial redevelopment of the site with a new visitor center to serve the state’s newest wildlife refuge. The public arrival experience is focused on nature. Entering the site, visitors travel along a curvilinear path introducing them to the expanse of the refuge. Arriving at the visitor center, a central pedestrian spine orients visitors and creates a visual axis connecting distant views of the Rio Grande Bosque and Sandia Mountains that define the context of the site.

The building program is separated into three masses united beneath a large folding roof plane. The entrance breezeway created in the void between masses acts as a gateway to the refuge. Deep overhangs shade elevated viewing terraces and an outdoor amphitheater providing visual access to the acres of future wetlands of the surrounding refuge.

Water’s critical role in shaping the refuge is woven through the site and building forms. The flow of stormwater is expressed through a network of acequias allowing visitors to trace the path of the water as they recharge the adjacent wetlands. An exterior of weathered steel box-rib and high-performance bird safe glazing surround flexible interiors clad in local beetle-kill pine. Public spaces include a library room, nature store, and exhibit hall, along multipurpose and meeting rooms, and catering kitchen that serve as community resources.