Petrified Forest National Park’s HQ and visitor center undergoes a comprehensive rehabilitation
The Painted Desert Community Complex, the headquarters and visitor center of Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, is undergoing a comprehensive rehabilitation.
Hennebery Eddy Architects leads the project in partnership with the National Park Service and in consultation with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Neutra Institute, and the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office.
Designed by architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander as a sheltered oasis in a windswept desert, the 1965 modernist complex comprises long, low buildings with flat roofs framing a series of wind-protected outdoor courtyards.
In addition to the park’s visitor center, the buildings serve as administration, housing, laboratory, and support facilities. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, the complex features distinctive “spider leg” steel structural elements.
Since their construction, the buildings have experienced significant issues, such as compromised foundations, degraded concrete masonry walls, and moderately effective repairs. The $38 million rehabilitation project aims to restore and strengthen the original design.
The current phase of work encompasses five buildings and spaces in the complex: the visitor center and administration building, one of four housing blocks, vehicle storage building, maintenance building, and the outdoor central plaza.
Designed to operate as a net-zero energy facility, the revitalized complex will install a solar array, heat pumps in the housing blocks, and a VRF system at the visitor center and admin building. The project also improves the enclosure and upgrades the mechanical system, while the entire campus transitions from propane to all-electric systems.
Passive design strategies rehabilitate original architectural elements, such as the cantilevered roofs, walkway canopies, and south-facing masonry walls, that shade the extensive glazing and mitigate heat gain.
Other work includes foundation reinforcement, new low-slope roofs, interior finish updates, new fire protection systems, a new elevator, and landscaping improvements.
The rehabilitation also corrects alterations that compromised Neutra’s vision. This includes demolishing an over-framed roof that obscured the visitor center’s “spider legs,” replacing incompatible punch windows with ribbon windows, and restoring the exhibit hall’s floor-to-ceiling glazing.
Construction began in late 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2027.
On the project team: National Park Service (owner), Hennebery Eddy Architects (architect and interior designer), DCI Engineers (structural engineer), Calibre Engineering (civil engineer), Interface Engineering (MEP engineer), DHM Design Corporation (landscape architect), Stronghold Engineering (contractor).