Sustainability serves as inspiration for Museum of Natural Sciences
With a focus on the environment, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences wanted natural materials — including domestic stone — for its new Nature Research Center
The Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is the focal point of the newly built Green Square Complex in Raleigh, NC. Covering 80,000 square feet, its goal is to bring research scientists and their work to the public eye. This project is an expansion of over 100,000 square feet to the existing museum. The expansion is designed to educate the public on how scientists use known data or collect new data to educate and preserve our natural resources for a sustainable future. With that focus, what better way to communicate this critical message than to create an environmentally friendly building with interactive research labs and exhibits? The use of local stone was a key component in achieving the environmental goals of the project.
“We implemented the LEED Certification process to help us outline the sustainable requirements,” said José C. García, AIA, of O’Brien/Atkins Associates, the architecture firm for the project. “As part of the LEED process, we decided that we wanted to use natural materials to the greatest extent possible from the southeast region or within 500 miles of the project. The structure also needed to be constructed with building materials that would last the test of time both for the next 75 years with regard to appearance and durability.”