Project Details
Total Building Commissioning Services
HICAPS’ Building Diagnostics Team was selected by the National Parks Service (NPS) to provide enhanced mechanical, electrical, and building enclosure commissioning services for the renovation of the Wright Brothers Memorial Visitors Center in Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The 9,600-square-foot modernist building, constructed in 1959, serves more than 500,000 visitors annually and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2001. The space includes a domed assembly/flight room with a life-size reproduction of the airplane Orville and Wilbur first set into flight, a museum area, a gift shop, and public service areas.
Over the years, much of the Visitors Center’s architecturally significant features and materials have been lost to “unsympathetic modern alterations.” The goal of the NPS is to restore the building to its original aesthetics while upgrading to more robust and energy-efficient building enclosure, mechanical and electrical systems. The project has been designed to comply with and receive a LEED® Gold Certification upon completion and boasts a geothermal heat pump system, state-of-the-art insulated, low-emissivity glazing systems, a continuous air barrier system, a new insulated and reflective thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof system among other sustainable systems and materials. This project was completed in 2023.
