Grimshaw Breaks Ground on the Miami Science Museum Which Will Be Its Own Living Exhibit

<a href="http://grimshaw-architects.com/" target="_blank">Grimshaw Architects</a> just broke ground on the new <a href="http://www.miamisci.org/" target="_blank">Miami Science Museum</a>, which will be located adjacent to the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/herzog-de-meuron-unveil-new-miami-art-museum/">Herzog &amp; de Meuron-designed Miami Art Museum</a> in downtown Miami’s Museum Park. The new museum will be a living building - and it will actually be an exhibit itself with a living core, vegetated roofs, and advanced systems that will allow it to physically and visibly change in response to weather, events, and the mood of the city.

<a href="http://grimshaw-architects.com/" target="_blank">Grimshaw Architects</a> broke ground on the <a href="http://www.miamisci.org/" target="_blank">Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science</a> in Downtown Miami’s Museum Park last Friday.

The 250,000 square-foot complex is expected to be among the world’s most innovative and sustainable science museums.

Built around a lushly landscaped indoor and outdoor “living core” of terrestrial and aquatic spaces, the museum will feature a 600,000 gallon aquarium facility, a full dome 3-D planetarium, interactive exhibits, innovative technology and two additional wings of exhibition space, learning center and cafes.

Located adjacent to the new Miami Art Museum, the MSM will enjoy a beautiful lawn and a a constructed wetland to control of storm water runoff and to enhance site biodiversity.

MSM will its own living exhibit and will showcase sustainable technologies, smart design, encourage biodiversity and educate visitors through example.

The building's shape has been optimized to create comfortable exterior spaces, encourage breezes and ventilation, provide shade and mitigate the effects of hurricane.

High performance ventilation and air conditioning systems will be fine tuned to provide superior comfort at low energy for the interior spaces.

A vegetated roof controls rainwater, which will also be collected and reused in a grey water system.

When the museum moves into its new home it will cater to 60,000 to 100,000 school children annually to encourage enjoyable learning, new ideas, new opportunities, and new careers.

The museum has also begun a new program called <a href="http://www.downtownmiaminews.com/featured/miami-science-museum-groundbreaking-in-museum-park/2696/" target="_blank">“Science Stars”</a>, which will bring leading scientists, such as astronomers, physicists, marine biologists, and engineers into the Miami-Dade County Public School System to provide children (K-12) with an opportunity to learn interactively about science in a school-based setting.

MSM is expected to be completed sometime in 2015.

Facade details

Model of MSM in the museum park.