- Project Type: Commercial
- Location: Lafayette, Colorado
Thorne Nature Experience teaches Earth stewardship by providing youth with joyful, hands-on, place-based environmental education experiences that foster an emotional connection to nature. It is the top-rated environmental education center in the country.
Caddis designed Thorne’s new Lafayette Nature Center. It is a state-of-the-art environmental education center that houses Thorne’s nature-based preschool, flexible classrooms for 10 to 40 students, Nature Kids programming, indoor and outdoor community gathering spaces, an incredible nature-based play area on 2.5 acres of land, and Thorne Nature Experience offices.
The linear-shaped center is designed to use the one-story structures and the generous entry canopy to create an inviting gateway to the delightful natural play areas. Colorado red sandstone wainscot, exposed glulam beams, and branch-like column braces complement the nature center’s creative landscape play area, complete with playgrounds that include wood climbing structures and mimic animal habitats.
Thorne shares the following amenities with the community: covered picnic areas; a public bathroom; connection trails to the adjacent Coal Creek Open Space; unique natural slides, climbers, and swings; and large sand and water play areas, Prairie dog mounds and tunnels, designed by Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, allow children to interact with the natural world on their own terms.
