The Land Heritage Institute is a non-profit organization located south of San Antonio, Texas whose mission is to inform and educate about the history of land use in Texas. The Land Heritage Institute required the development of a visitor center that would act as a reception area for visitors, as well as an area in which small groups would be able to use as a meeting space. The programming of this facility required the inclusion of a prep-kitchen, an office for park employees, restroom facilities, meeting/gathering spaces, as well as storage.

Because this building was to be used as a visitor center for an institute whose mission is to teach about how the people of Texas lived and worked the land throughout history and paired with the Land Heritage Institute’s request that the building be “light” on the land; this visitor center was designed in the traditional Texas building style of the “dog trot.” The “dog trot” styling of this visitor center allowed for a segmented six (6) bay structure, where every other bay would act as a breezeway between the functional elements of the structure and allow spaces for both formal and informal interaction between the guests.

To meet the needs of the Land Heritage Institute, the major objectives and goals of this project were:

1. Re-develop entry into the site and create a true welcoming environment for visitors.

2. To be all volunteer constructed (through Americorps), so the design must reflect simple construction.

3. The building must be “light on the land.”

4. The building must contain, at a minimum: meeting spaces, restrooms, kitchen, and storage spaces.