World Heritage Center

Dunaway is proud to have collaborated with the World Heritage Office to develop the World Heritage Center in the City of San Antonio. Dunaway provided PLA, Civil, and Structural services and partnered with Alta Architects (formerly Munoz & Co. Architects) on the design, which showcases San Antonio’s ties to its historic missions and its designation as a World Heritage Site.

San Antonio’s World Heritage system encompasses five historic missions along the San Antonio River, stretching from downtown to the south. While the iconic Alamo Mission, located downtown, draws millions of visitors annually, access to the remaining missions has long been a challenge. The World Heritage Center aims to change that, transforming the visitor experience and connecting the missions in a way never before possible.

Dunaway’s staff members’ previous expertise in the Mission Reach Enhancement project, which introduced a new trail system linking the missions to the famed San Antonio Riverwalk, played a pivotal role in this project. With this knowledge, Dunaway was selected to design wayfinding and signage elements that guide visitors along existing trails and roadways to the missions, enhancing accessibility and providing a seamless journey. Dunaway analyzed the previous signage assessments and created custom signage designs that provided a clear vocabulary to provide guidance at key intersections and along the roadways.

The World Heritage Center will continue the development of the campus at Mission Drive Inn into a special place in San Antonio, providing visitors and the local community opportunities to educate, enjoy, and discover the history of the missions and the surrounding communities.

The drum circle will be surrounded by newly planted trees to provide shade while people use the space. All the planting/trees will not block the view of the existing Mission Marquee. The drum circle will have educational elements contributing to the site/proposed building. The drum circle will be made of different colors of integral concrete with sandblasted features, green aggregate, black/white aggregates, and river rock borders with concrete pads/steps. Additionally, we collaborated with local artist Adriana Garcia to design the veranda panels at the center of the drum circle design.