Greatbatch Pavilion

In 2009 The Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion and Visitor Center at the Darwin Martin House, 125 Jewett Parkway, Buffalo, NY, opened. Toshiko Mori designed the Martin House visitor center. It is an elegant sophisticated work that is subordinate to the Martin Complex. This is my favorite 21st century building.

Toshiko Mori, born in 1951, is an architect and the founder and principal of New York-based Toshiko Mori Architect, PLLC and Vision Arc. The firm’s work includes urban, civic, institutional, cultural, residential, museum and exhibition design. Her strong research-based approach to design has been commended around the world. Mori's designs are related to sensation and experience as well as the role of the arts in improving communities.

The Visitor Center is conceived as a transparent, glass-walled pavilion that combines the structure, its landscape and the view of the Martin House estate into a whole work. Mori's great sensitivity to the tenets of Wright's Prairie designs are shown in the prominent sheltering roof, an inverted cantilever, that visually gathers the outdoor space into the composition. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls foster a connection between the inside and the outside. The open interior plan promotes freedom of movement and interaction within the building. Furthermore, this 5,600 square foot main floor is heated and cooled by convections systems located below ground thus no vents or pipes interfere with the sight lines.

Wright’s intent for this residential design for the Martin family was that a broad strong roof would provide shelter and safety for them. Furthermore, his plans for the Martin House were intended to blur the distinction between the inside and the outside. The brown mosaic floor tile that starts outside the front door and flows unbroken in to the major space of the first floor was meant to echo the long lines of the American prairie. Likewise, the roman brickwork that covers the exterior and flows into the house and becomes the walls also denies the distinction of the outside vs. the inside.

Toshiko Mori has demonstrated her knowledge and sensitivity to Wright’s designs in her use of paired opposites in this visitor center. Paired opposites are light/dark, open/closed, smooth/rough, projections/recessions, and square/circle. In the visitor center, where inside and outside are one, the transparent glass walls, the smooth concrete floor and the steel structure are juxtaposed against a golden-brown brick residence with a broad roof and deeply recessed windows that meant privacy for its occupants.

The Greatbatch Pavilion and visitor center is a place for sweeping, horizontal views of the Martin House complex, a space for visitor reception, orientation and special programming. It is a marvelous place to visit at all times of the day and all year long because there is a timeless quality to the estate and the view is always changing. The color of light, the color of the leaves and in the winter the snow-covered grounds are always a visual treat. Finally, people always want a window view and that’s what happens here.

Built:	2008-2009
Architect:	Toshiko Mori (online May 2020)
Style:	See Toshiko Mori's comments below
Construction company:	LPCiminelli (online May 2020)
Main contributors:	Greatbatch family (East Hill Foundation online May 2020)
Cost:	$5 million
Size:	5,900-square-foot main floor
Heating and cooling:	Geothermal (See below)
Exhibits design:	2X4,Inc. (online May 2020)