SAS Architects

Project Type: Lake Aquarium and Science Center (an addition to a university lake research lab)

Size: 28,000 SF; two stories + mechanical penthouse

Cost: $8,400,000 + $2,000,000 exhibits

Completion: 2003

ECHO is the result of a multi-phase project dedicated to the stewardship and conservation of the Lake Champlain Basin. It is now considered to be the centerpiece of the ongoing renaissance from neglected waterfront to a vital community resource.

The initial phase of the project was the Rubenstein Lab, a lake research facility for the University of Vermont that was completed in the 1990’s. With the UVM Rubenstein Lab established, and very small science center (The Lake Champlain Basin Science Center) located in an adjacent renovated Naval Reserve facility, the LCBSC envisioned becoming a world class lake aquarium and science center. Although a separate entity, ECHO is an addition to the Lab, with a few connecting links at the interior.

The civic challenges and commitments of the project were to provide the following:

In addition, the stated program mission of ECHO is to “educate and delight people about the Ecology, Culture, History, and Opportunities for stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin.”

Since completion, visitation has exceeded projections and ECHO has been recognized with two awards for architectural excellence.

Sensitivity of the design to water

ECHO occupies a prominent location on Burlington’s redeveloping waterfront where the natural and urban landscapes converge on its diminutive site. Bounded by a steel breakwater on the west and south, the Waterfront Park on the north, and the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein Lab on the east, ECHO occupies center stage in a very public “theater in the round” on the Burlington landscape. As such, signature architectural elements respond to the diversity of the urban and natural contexts and imply the promise of a dynamic experience of a lake aquarium and science center within.

Unlike many cultural centers that restrict access to the working or service side of the facility, ECHO allows access (for ticketed visitors as well as the general public) around the entire facility in order to preserve the continuity of public access to the water’s edge.

The community is offered access to the café, lobby, restrooms, gift shop, and many fun and interpretive exhibits in the lobby and encircling plaza promenade. Many interior exhibits are illuminated at night, animating the evening experience for many visitors to the Waterfront Park, Boathouse and Docks and Ferry.

The Melosira, UVM’s research vessel, is docked at the breakwater, just south of the café. A short stroll away, is the site of the future Navy Memorial, which recalls the Naval Reserve Facility that once occupied the site. Hoehl Park was developed on the spit of land just south of ECHO as a public destination and commemorative site honoring the Naval Reserve service corps as part of the ECHO project.

Quality and harmony of design

Facing the city, a towering stone slab, incised with a circle, rises above the modest two-story building, and holds aloft the stainless steel sturgeon, a lake center icon. On the lakeside, a glass tower, (conceptually a fragment drawn from an interior sky lit atrium) pulls free of the building envelope, revealing a slender and ethereal volume of space. By day it reflects nuances of sun and shadow and weather. By night, it becomes a beacon illuminated with sculptural intent. The tower recently inspired the first annual site-specific arts exhibition.

The masonry façade is animated thru controlled transparency that offers glimpses of the interior exhibits and features.

Water mist emanates from fissures in slate slabs surrounding the entry plaza, creating a sense of mystery and delight that recalls the moody atmosphere of the Lake Champlain shore. Water spills over a twenty-foot tall slab of Champlain marble which is central to a series of still water pools that inspire an immediate interaction with water in the lobby.

A two-story atrium originates at the lobby and slices diagonally thru the building, expanding both the available volume and natural light at the central circulation core. The atrium visually connects the city with the lake and mountains beyond. An effervescent and mesmerizing column of water marks the center of the surrounding concentric exhibit gallery.

ECHO is located on a former abandoned industrial site. Improvements included the deconstruction of the existing buildings, rubble, fuel tanks and other hazardous materials and re-vegetation of about 20% of the site. 85% of the construction waste was recycled. Salvaged Douglas fir was re-milled and reused.

Lake pollution was reduced by replacing asphalt with gravel parking. Building run-off is directed toward landscaped areas containing indigenous plantings that do not require irrigation. Bike racks, preferential car pool parking and electric car charging stations are provided.

Site lighting provides uniform illumination without disturbing the night sky visibility.

A 3D interpretive exhibit illustrates the materials and methods of ECHO’s high-performance building envelope. Reduced energy consumption and downsized mechanical systems resulted in energy costs that are expected to be 27% lower than required by the Burlington energy code.

ECHO follows environmentally-friendly practices. The building utilizes a facility-wide digital control system, fiber optic lighting, a solar thermal system for water heating, auto dimming fluorescent lights, recycled content materials, with human and lake-friendly products throughout. Dual flush toilets and waterless urinals confirm the value of water as a precious resource.

The Lake Champlain Basin Program, the University of Vermont's Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, Saint Michael's College and LAKENET are ECHO key partners in a collective effort to promote healthy lakes and freshwater systems.

ECHO bears the distinction of being the first building in Vermont (and third in New England) to be awarded LEED certification.

ECHO contains one hundred hands-on interactive exhibits and 12,000 gallons of aquariums that support 60 species of live fish, amphibians and reptiles.

The first water exhibit, a cross sectional slice thru a recreated river, is encountered at an intermediate level in the central atrium. A sweeping panorama of the Adirondacks that is revealed at the second floor initiates the exhibit of the Basin evolution. Moving clockwise thru the circular exhibit area, the evolutionary timeline advances, arriving back in the Here and Now at a bridge that spans the atrium. A waterdrop’s journey is followed from mountaintop to river lowlands, where the exhibits are eventually submerged on the first level for a complete ‘Under the Lake’ experience.

In addition to the formal exhibit sequence, the Center contains open flexible space for many diverse programs, has direct access for visitors and staff to the Rubenstein Lab and provides select views into laboratory areas. A flexible use changing exhibit gallery features three nationally acclaimed traveling exhibits to our visitors. Multi-purpose Great Room and classroom support a host of camps, programs, demonstrations and other community activities.

The Lake Champlain Basin Program maintains a resource room off the exhibit area to support more in-depth research, while The Discovery Room caters to the very youngest visitors.