Fire-Resilient Design Unveiled for New Eaton Canyon Nature Center

Plans for a new wildfire-resilient Eaton Canyon Nature Center were taking shape Friday after Los Angeles County officials unveiled a design featuring fire-resistant materials, sprinklers and curved walls intended to divert windblown embers.

The proposed horseshoe-shaped building includes an open-air interior courtyard, roof and eave sprinklers, a fire-resistant stone and steel exterior, curved walls designed to divert windblown embers and slow strong wind gusts, and on-site water tanks, according to the county Department of Parks and Recreation.

The design and location were developed with community input and consideration of wildfire resiliency and the canyon’s historic, tribal and cultural legacy, county officials said.

Architects Anne Mooney and Ludwing Juarez of Sparano + Mooney Architecture presented the design Wednesday during a “From Ashes to Action” panel discussion at the Los Angeles County Arboretum attended by more than 100 people.

The planning incorporates modeling of 100 years of fire, wind and flood patterns to help determine the site and design, according to the county.

Officials said fire resiliency was a central consideration because two previous Eaton Canyon nature centers were lost to wildfires.

“Everyone in this room is here today because we all care deeply about the future of Eaton Canyon,” Mooney said at Wednesday’s presentation. “We all share that passion. And as our team began working on this project, we were asked a fundamental question: How do we build back better?”

Mooney said the research and community feedback resulted in a “nature center that is more resilient, more responsive to the realities of our changing environmental conditions and more protected and prepared to serve future generations.”

County Parks Director Norma E. Garcia-Gonzalez said Eaton Canyon attracts nearly 1 million residents and visitors annually and described the nature center and natural area as an important ecological and community resource.

Assemblyman John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, helped secure $16 million in state funding for reconstruction of the nature center, which Garcia-Gonzalez said represents about half of the money needed for the project.

The county is working with the Los Angeles County Parks Foundation to raise the remaining money through philanthropic and business-sector support.

The next “From Ashes to Action” panel is scheduled for Oct. 7 and will focus on the Eaton Canyon landscape redesign. The event is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.