Boston Children's Museum Expansion and Renovation
(Boston Children's Museum Renovation)
Overview
Location: Boston, MA
Building type(s): Interpretive Center
25% new construction, 75% renovation
172,000 ft2 (16,000 m2)
Project scope: 6-story building
Urban setting
Completed October 2007
Rating: U.S. Green Building Council LEED-NC, v.2/v.2.1--Level: Gold (39 points)
The Boston Children's Museum is a private, nonprofit, educational institution founded in 1913 by a group of teachers. Its mission is to help children understand and enjoy the world through hands-on engagement and learning by experience. The museum features exhibits on science, culture, environmental awareness, health and fitness, and the arts.
The museum expansion and renovation was designed to enhance the building's connections to its urban waterfront site, guided by a desire to build environmental education opportunities into the design. From the adaptive reuse of the onsite 19th-century wool warehouse and industrial site to the new graywater storage system and green roof, the museum has become an environmental teaching tool for its young audience, in addition to becoming the first LEED-certified museum in Boston.
Environmental Aspects
The museum is a working exhibition that demonstrates green building elements. The programs incorporate three principles:
1. Green by Example: The "Green Trail" is a series of interactive stations with age-appropriate explanations of the building's green elements and their relationship to the ecology of the area.
2. Green Hands-On: All programs will be based on current research on how children learn about the natural world. For example, children and families were invited to help plant parts of the green roof.
3. Green at Home: The museum will create a "Growing Green" section of its website for further interpretation of the building as well as steps for children and families to take toward greater sustainability in their own lives.
Owner & Occupancy
Owned and occupied by Boston Children's Museum, Corporation, nonprofit
Typically occupied by 330 people, 35 hours per person per week; and 8,400 visitors per week, 3 hours per visitor per week
