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DENALI PARK -- Paula and George Hatchman rode a shuttle bus into Denali National Park this month. When the bus driver announced their arrival at the new Eielson Visitor Center, they wondered if he was joking.

“You wouldn’t even know it was here,” said the visitor from Australia. “It just blends with the environment.”

The new structure has been built into the hillside, so the first view is of … well … the view.

The roof is a giant viewing platform, and even if Mount McKinley is not visible, there is plenty to look at — from the Thorofare River to the imposing mountains of the Alaska Range.

Beneath that viewing platform is a more than 7,400-square-foot visitor center filled with exhibits, artwork from visiting artists-in-residence and a 12-foot-diameter circular, hand-painted diorama that illuminates historical and modern climbing routes up 20,320-foot Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in North America.

Visitors, like the Hatchmans, gravitate to a giant, south-facing window that faces Mount McKinley. Embedded in the floor are brass circles marked with different size “heights.” On days when the mountain is covered by clouds, visitors can stand on the circle matching their height and a faint outline of the summit, engraved on the window, shows where the peak would be visible on a clear day.

The farthest wall from the entrance is graced with an exquisite wall-size handmade quilt created by local quilter Ree Nancarrow, who has lived at Denali for more than 30 years. This extraordinary quilt, displayed in four panels, depicts the seasons of Denali, including all the wildlife, wildflowers, weather and landscapes it encompasses. Yes, there are even a few mosquitoes stitched here and there.

“The quilt just jumps off the wall immediately,” said Josh Becker, park interpreter.

More than a year in the making, the quilt is a magnet for visitors, according to Becker and the other folks who work there. It is perfectly displayed under an array of natural light.

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The $9.2 million facility is a shining example of sustainability, as measured by the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.

The building is the first National Park Service structure to receive a platinum award under this rating system. (The Denali National Park Visitor Center, at the park entrance, received a LEED Silver Certificate in 2005.)

Obvious and hidden characteristics make this building unique.

Certainly, the low profile — kind of like a daylight basement — helps it blend into the landscape. Tundra mats — sod-like pieces of ground containing native vegetation — were salvaged during construction to help camouflage and landscape some of the roof deck.

The center is powered by solar panels and a small hydroelectric system in a nearby stream. Skylights allow natural light to filter in from above and industrial grates over the skylights ensure bears can’t damage them.

Designers didn’t just guess where skylights needed to be placed. Extensive light studies were conducted at special laboratories in Seattle and Portland, simulating the exact location of Eielson Visitor Center, along with the angle of the sun throughout the season. Skylight placement depended on what would let in the most light.

The alternative energy used here is especially significant since the building is remote and “off the grid.”

“We thought we could take care of 75 percent of the power needs, but we are totally off the grid,” interpretive planner Carol Harding said. “We are thinking globally by powering locally.”

Contractors also recycled portions of the original visitor center for this building and used carefully selected materials that are recycled and locally produced. Harding pointed out that a large section of the floor is actually made from recycled tires.

“The efforts and strategies that went into the design and construction of the building, which ultimately led to the LEED Platinum rating, are explained in exhibits so that visitors can learn how they can reduce their impacts on Earth,” deputy superintendent Elwood Lynn said. “Visitors will be able to experience natural day lighting in a building and see firsthand how energy consumption can be minimized through good design.”

A life-size parade of Denali mammals, their outlines cut out in steel, graces an outside wall. Visitors can stand next to a moose, bear, caribou, sheep or wolf and get a feel for how large those creatures really are.

Near the front doors sit two moose skulls, their respective antlers hopelessly entangled. The skeletons were discovered several years ago, about one mile up Moose Creek Trail. The National Park Service recovered the skulls and antlers and put them on display here. A movie inside the center tells the story.

Quotes are etched in stone throughout the facility.

One says: “Earth laughs in flowers …” Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet. Another says: “Unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations ...” part of the National Park Service mission statement. A third, on a lower step, says, “Keep Exploring.”

That is really the purpose of the center, according to Harding.

“The whole focus, is to get people out into the park to explore,” she said.

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One section of the center is called “Voices of Denali,” and visitors can take in observations from climbers, artists and Native leaders through recordings and writings.

A wall of photos shows people enjoying Denali in different ways: hiking, climbing, peering at wildflowers, camping and more.

A small alcove theater shows a brief film about climbing Mount McKinley.

There’s a designated area for eating inside, and there are plenty of benches, rocks and steps for eating lunch outside as well. Recycling bins are located throughout the building, but visitors are advised to take their trash out when they leave.

The good news for visitors just passing through — including backpackers — is that rest rooms are open 24 hours, and there are many more than were in the previous building.

Bus drivers and employees have a new private lounge area where they can escape their passengers/visitors and get a much-needed break before driving back to the park entrance.

The old Eielson Visitor Center sat perched on the edge of the hillside and was built in 1960. It was demolished in September 2005. Construction of the new center continued through the summers of 2006 and 2007.

It was not an easy project, hampered by its remote location, unpredictable weather and local critters. Workers laying concrete had to repeatedly re-do it when ground squirrels skittered across the fresh paving, leaving their little tracks behind.

To open the new facility on time this season, the park road crew needed to get workers out to the site by April 24. Weather did not cooperate, and road crews had to plow the road three or four times after heavy snows.

Meanwhile, “they were pouring concrete in the snow,” said Harding, who helped spearhead the project.

There is no bookstore at the new visitor center. That has been moved to Toklat, where buses turned around during the construction phase of the project.

The building opened June 8, and a special grand-opening ceremony is planned for Aug. 12.