Brought to you by:Architect:DLR GroupLocation: ClevelandCompletion Date: 2024Facelift may be the appropriate term for a recent expansion to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where a 58,000-square-foot addition has transformed the exterior of the institution. Designed by DLR Group, the project adds new exhibition space as well as two acres of landscaping around the perimeter of the building. Previously housed within an inconspicuous brick structure, the museums new facade is a radical departure, featuring large spans of glazing and a sweeping glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) roofline that was inspired by the regions geology. A 2-story brick building was constructed in the 1970s to house the museum. Later, in the early 2000s, a conical planetarium was added. (AJHalliwell/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)Cleveland Museum of Natural History is located in University Circle, a leafy neighborhood east of the citys downtown that it shares with the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, and the campus of Case Western Reserve University. Housed in various temporary accommodations for the first 38 years of its operation, the museum arrived in University Circle in 1958, in an unassuming 2-story brick building by local firm Garfield, Harris, Schafer, Flynn, and Williams (Garfield was the son of President James Garfield). DLR Group can actually connect itself to the original design firm through a somewhat convoluted lineage of firm rebranding and acquisition. Renamed several times throughout its more than 100 year history, the original architecture firmeventually known as Westlake, Reed, Lekoskywas acquired by DLR Group in 2016.The meandering shape of the addition and the rippled texture of its GFRC roofline recalls the glaciers that carved the Great Lakes. (Kevin Reeves)Tasked with creating a new appearance for the institution, DLR Group sought first and foremost to distinguish the structure from its neighbors, the Museum of Artwhich features a largely opaque addition by Marcel Breuerand the glassy Botanical Garden. The Museum of Natural History finds its footing somewhere between the two, featuring long spans of glass that are tempered by the solidity of the roofline, which was formed from textured GFRC. The buildings facade was conceived as a natural metaphor, recalling the areas geological past. Bringing to life the natural evolution of the region, including a glacier that carved the Cuyahoga Valley and melted about 12,000 years ago, the new buildings design evokes the regions surrounding bodies of water and geological history, Mark Morris, principal and design leader at DLR Group, told AN. The facades alluvial shapes define and create a single and continuous form that unifies the Museums additions, including the new visitor hall and exhibit wings.Unlike the first phase of the project, the exterior facade features numerous unique panel types, each with a complex texture and geometry. (Kevin Reeves)DLR Group first experimented with GFRC during the projects initial phase, which focused on renovations to the museums internal courtyard. During this time, the firm became more comfortable with the material, using a simplified, single panel module that allowed them to understand the proper tolerances, efficient assembly methods, and also test texture and color. As we completed the design of the Phase 2 facades, we were confident that the GFRC product would achieve the aesthetic and performance we needed for the facade of the new additions, added Morris. Unlike the courtyard screen wall design, the design of the new facades, required all panels to be unique molds.While GFRC was used for the facades highly visible portions, DLR Group specified Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) for the buildings exterior soffits. The firm also worked diligently to reduce the projects embodied carbon. Overall, an estimated 10 percent reduction in emissions was achieved through the use of a low-carbon concrete that substitutes some cementitious materials for fly ash.The glazed portions of the building feature items that are not sensitive to sunlight, including casts of entire Dinosaur skeletons. (Kevin Reeves)To reimagine the layout of the museums exhibitions, DLR Group worked with G&A, a New York Citybased design firm. According to a press release, the institutions collection is now sequenced to tell a unified story of life on Earth that breaks away from the traditional timeline and discipline-based approach found at similar museums. This mission is supported with new digital technologies and displays, prioritizing an experienced-based model of exhibition, which has grown in popularity in recent years. The facades generous exterior glazing allows the Museum of Natural History to prominently display its casts of full dinosaur skeletons, which are among the museums most popular displays. Other more sunlight sensitive objects are housed within opaque galleries.G&As exhibition design utilizes the latest digital display technologies. (Kevin Reeves)On its website, the Cleveland Museum of Natural Historys mission statement reads: To inspire, through science and education, a passion for nature, the protection of natural diversity, the fostering of health, and leadership to a sustainable future.This last clause, emphasizing sustainability and natural conservation, was particularly inspirational to the design team at DLR Group. Accordingly, many of the new buildings sustainability features are highly visible, be it a bird-friendly frit across the glazing, horizontal sun shades that reduce energy consumption, or the rainwater collection system filtering water from the roof into the ground-level landscaping through a highly visible spout on the facade.Project SpecificationsArchitect: DLR GroupLandscape Architect: Sasaki, Pashek + MTRStructural Engineer: DLR GroupMEP Engineer: DLR GroupCivil Engineer: Osborn EngineeringSignage/Wayfinding: DLR Group, G&ASecurity Consultant: SRMCExhibition Design: G&AGeneral Contractor: Panzica ConstructionGlazing Contractor: United Architectural MetalsFacade Installation: OCP ContractorsFacade System: FormglasGFRC: Advanced Architectural StoneACM Panels: AlpolicGlass: Viracon