Garden Gateway,

Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Durham, North Carolina

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens are a cherished part of Duke University’s culture and one of the country’s premier botanical gardens at the heart of an academic campus. Featuring a new welcome center and canopy structure, this project creates a vibrant gateway to the expansive gardens and the wider university campus.

A natural wood-clad breezeway between the welcome center’s lobby and café forms a grand entrance, guiding visitors from the parking and arrival areas into a spacious grand plaza. A perforated metal panel canopy offers cooling shade, inviting moments of repose as visitors prepare to explore the gardens. The redesigned entrance experience is interconnected by pedestrian paths, courtyards, and a newly introduced event lawn. Intentionally low roof structures preserve picturesque vistas of Duke’s historic chapel, bridging past and present.

The new Garden Gateway Welcome Center enriches educational experiences and expands opportunities for retail, gallery exhibitions, administrative functions, and community events. Concurrent renovation and expansion of the existing Doris Duke Center enhances the capacity to host larger events while modernizing interior spaces to reflect the gardens’ esteemed character throughout the campus.

This initiative embodies a commitment to experiencing nature while fostering learning, community engagement, and celebration within Duke University’s cherished botanical oasis.

Duke Gardens Section Diagram
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Size

10,500 sf New Construction

12,600 sf Renovation

 

Entrance to Duke Gardens, wooden ceiling
Duke Gardens Site Plan

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