Project Description
ANF worked closely with the Tennessee Historical Commission to design the 6,500 s.f. Alex Haley Interpretive Center and Museum on the site of the famous author’s former home in Henning, TN.
The Visitor’s Center was created to enhance the mission of the historic house and museum with a design that reflects the architectural ‘roots’ of a small southern town.
The new building was carefully sited to preserve existing trees and provide emphasis on a new event lawn where an existing parking lot was removed.
Sustainable strategies included green building products, providing shade with deep roof overhangs, and HVAC systems designed to minimize energy consumption and reduce the
client’s energy costs.
The design concept for the one-story Alex Haley Interpretive Center building focuses Visitors’ experiences on the principle feature of this National Register of Historic Places site – the Historic House itself. Upon entering the Lobby with its graduated vaulting and full-height glass wall, a carefully considered vista created by the building’s two angled wings provides a sightline oriented directly toward the House. All public spaces in the Interpretive Center open onto this central Lobby with its framed view of the remarkable Home. Exhibits completed in 2010 bring Haley’s accomplishments to life through Coast Guard artifacts, a stylized slave ship, and his Pulitzer Prize.