Architecture / Exhibits / Immersive Environments / Master Planning

Pleasure Island Nature & Visitor Center

Port Arthur, Texas2026 · Design development

Aerial rendering of the proposed Pleasure Island development, with the bridge, visitor facilities, park spaces, coastal wetlands, and waterways. — The proposed Pleasure Island development within the wider coastal landscape.

Rendering of the main entrance with a broad timber canopy, stone walls, and a planted terrace. — Main entrance and public arrival.

Rendering of the cafe deck with glazed railings, planting, and people gathering beneath trees. — The café deck connects the building to the landscape.

Evening rendering of the visitor center with shaded walkways and low stone building forms. — Evening exterior and connected outdoor spaces.

Rendering of the cafe interior with a tiled counter, woven pendants, and planted seating areas. — The café as a place to gather before or after exploring the island.

Rendering of cafe seating around a planted central feature beside tall windows. — Café seating and views into the landscape.

Sectional rendering showing the cafe, timber roof, and the relationship between interior and exterior. — A sectional perspective connects the café interior, roof, and outdoor spaces.

Rendering of a nature-center gallery with reception, interactive displays, suspended birds, and planting. — Arrival and orientation within the exhibit landscape.

Rendering of a cylindrical jellyfish display beside interactive exhibits and immersive media. — The jellyfish habitat within the coordinated exhibit environment.

Rendering of visitors at a coastal exhibit table beneath an illuminated overhead canopy. — Interactive exhibits connect visitors with coastal habitats and local observations.

Rendering of the gift shop with curved green ceiling elements, wood display tables, and a planted wall. — The gift shop extends the material and nature-inspired language of the center.

Rendering of a flexible meeting room with grouped tables and suspended linear lighting. — Meeting rooms support group visits and community gatherings.

Rendering of a curved immersive media wall showing a school of fish beneath suspended lighting. — An immersive media environment introduces the underwater landscape.

Annotated landscape masterplan with wetlands boardwalk, outdoor classrooms, gardens, event spaces, and discovery trails. — The landscape masterplan connects learning, ecology, and recreation.

Gift shop rendering with timber displays, integrated lighting, and a planted upper wall. — A gift shop study brings planting into the visitor experience.

Rendering of a visitor-center bridge through wetland planting beneath a willow tree. — A shaded arrival through the landscape.

Rendering of the cafe exterior with a wildlife mural and outdoor tables beneath trees. — The cafe opens onto shaded outdoor seating and a nature-inspired mural.

Rendering of a planted courtyard beneath red shade structures with integrated curved seating. — A planted courtyard connects arrival, shade, and gathering.

A gateway to the ecology, culture, and recreation of the Gulf Coast. Low-scaled buildings, shaded gathering spaces, landscape, and exhibits are conceived as a connected visitor experience.

My contribution

I helped shape the winning competition approach and lead the project through design development, working with the client and a multidisciplinary team across architecture, interiors, exhibits, landscape, and visitor experience.

How can a visitor center become a gateway to an entire island?

Explore the exhibits

Interactive 3D

A closer look at the living edge.

Explore individual exhibits from the Pleasure Island Nature & Visitor Center. Turn each model around to see how habitats, interpretation, and hands-on discovery come together.

Choose an exhibit, then open the 3D view.

Keyboard: focus the model, then use arrow keys to rotate and + / − to zoom.

Select an exhibit

Orientation & Fish Finder

A two-sided introduction connects the living edge of Pleasure Island with the fish of Sabine Lake.

Design model · Pleasure Island

A building that opens into the landscape

Porches, bridges, trellises, and native planting connect approachable building forms. The café and outdoor rooms support gathering, while paths lead visitors back toward the island.

Ecology becomes experience

Wetlands, coastal habitats, waterways, migration routes, and recreation inform the interpretive approach. The center introduces connected systems that visitors can encounter firsthand outside.

Exhibits shape the building

A central jellyfish gallery, touch tank, interactive mapping, and immersive media are being coordinated with structure, lighting, technology, and building systems as the design develops.

A place to pause

The café brings food, seating, and landscape together. Planted gathering areas, warm materials, and views outdoors make it part of the visitor experience. The sectional study shows how the interior, roof, and terrace are developed together.

Beyond the galleries

The gift shop and flexible meeting rooms support the wider visit, from finding a reminder of the island to gathering as a group. Their materials, lighting, and furnishings carry the center’s design language into everyday activities.

Collaboration & credits

Practice: PBK / Ether Design Lab.
Selected renderings from Design Development Meeting #6.

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