Design Competition Announced for the Newport Gateway Visitors Center

The Newport County Convention and Visitors Bureau is proud to announce a design competition, open to all architectural firms and interior designers as well as design students, to create a new, user-friendly Gateway Visitors Center interior environment that embraces the experience of the 21^st century traveler.

The Newport Gateway Visitors Center, located on America’s Cup Avenue, opened its doors in 1988 and has assisted more than 10 million travelers in its 23 years of operation. Since opening day, the Visitors Center has provided information and guidance to travelers looking to experience the attractions, tours, lodging options, shopping, restaurants and recreational opportunities in Newport and its eight surrounding communities.

In that time, little has changed with the original physical layout, interior design and operational organization of the Visitors Center. When the doors opened, printed brochures, pamphlets and maps were distributed to travelers to promote area attractions, restaurants and businesses. Since then, technological advances have allowed travelers to access information over the internet, through social media sites and in a multi-platform digital capacity. The design competition seeks to incorporate the latest technology available with a more efficient and user-friendly floor plan, as well as a modern aesthetic, to better serve the traveling public.

Design proposals will be submitted in mid-August with the winners announced in September. Once these new designs have been received, the fundraising for these improvements will get underway. Implementation of the designs may occur in phases as funding becomes available. 

The Board of the Newport County Convention and Visitors Bureau has retained Robert Douglass, president of Viaduct Advisors, LLC, to coordinate the design competition. Mr. Douglass has previously coordinated design competitions for Kirkbrae Country Club in Lincoln, Rhode Island as well as North Providence High School. 

Interested firms can contact Mr. Douglass at viaductadvisors@gmail.com for further information regarding the competition.