Moriarty Civic Center
Under our previous name, Garrett Smith Ltd. we worked with the City of Moriarty on the Master Plan for its civic offices and community facilities to determine the best land use for the area surrounding the current City Hall. Along with the Civic Center is planned a new Metropolitan Court; Police Department; Fire Department; Paramedical Facility; Senior Center; Nature Center; Botanical Garden; Public Services Office; various athletic fields; retail, office, and lodging facilities; and a City Hall expansion. This string of buildings will be connected by landscaped pedestrian/bike paths which lead to the city parks.
Garrett Smith Ltd. designed the new 21,000 sf Civic Center to include a flexible, 3-part Convention Hall with kitchen services and exterior overflow areas; a Library; conference rooms of varying sizes; Chamber of Commerce offices; a Visitor Center; and a Museum. Unique to the project is a lobby and corridor design which can be utilized in a number of ways depending on the activities scheduled. The Museum can use them as a gallery space, caterers can use them for staging dinner preparations, and ad hoc meetings can take place within their generous width. Landscaped areas were designed to serve as a new city park in the city center connected by the streetscape to the existing park.
Built of a standardized, rigid steel frame, corrugated metal and cement board cladding, and 2 ft. thick rammed earth, the Civic Center’s shed-like structure utilizes the local vernacular to achieve cost savings while carrying on local building traditions. The Civic Center also sets a standard of sustainability and climate control which will gain momentum in other civic projects in the area. The entire facility was designed to be flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of functions while offering flexibility for future transformation.
