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Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
Architects: EskewDumezRipple
Lead Architects: Steve Dumez, Noah Marble, Shawn Preau, and Haley Allen
Design Team: Vanessa Smith-Torres, Kyle Digby, Sam Levison, Mark Thorburn, Max Katz, and Guan Wang
Landscape Architects: Reed Hilderbrand
General Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Owner’s Representative: Stone Harbor Land Company
Client: The Bruce Museum
Photographers: Tim Hursley and Michael Biondo
The Bruce Museum is a regionally based, world-class museum located in Greenwich, Connecticut with a multi-disciplinary collection and exhibition program that brings art, science and natural history together. The project is a renovation and addition to the existing structure, a private residence originally constructed in the 1850’s but subsequently expanded and renovated numerous times, and the addition of a 42,000 square foot new wing providing expanded collection storage, permanent and changing art gallery space, and a new public entrance lobby and lecture hall for the museum.
The design of the 42,000 square foot expansion addresses the shortcomings of the previous arrival experience. A critical design decision was made to locate all the expanded gallery program at the same level as the existing museum galleries. This results in the expansion extending out over the hillside, providing an opportunity to infill the space below while carving into the hillside as the massing steps down to the park below. The design team created a captured courtyard within the U-shaped addition, drawing the space of the park into the museum itself. New public programs (lobby, café, gift shop and multi-purpose lecture hall) are organized on a single floor located twenty-five feet below the galleries at the level of the park.
The new east-facing entrance is now highly visible and easily accessible to visitors arriving by car or on foot. As a result, the new Bruce is now experienced as a museum in the land scape. The design of the exterior façade took its inspiration from two local precedents that have stone as the primary material reference – quarry and lace walls. Stone quarries are found throughout the region, where the act of carving into the earth produces a series of striated layers of cut material. At the building entrance, a series of precast concrete “sticks” are arranged within a stainless-steel frame to allow light to filter through the façade in a reinterpretation of a lace wall.
The faceted precast panels change appearance over the course of the day as light and shadow moves across – and through – the face of the building. This effect is even more dramatic as day turns to night and light emanates through the lace wall at the building entry. A monumental public stair follows the slope of the courtyard, providing a gracious means of ascent to the mezzanine and gallery levels above. This new courtyard space – conceived of as a “diorama of the site” – provides a means to continually orient visitors as they move throughout the museum. The Bruce Museum's energy-efficient design showcases forward-thinking strategies that seamlessly combine aesthetic appeal with high performance.
The facade's "lace wall" functions as a thermally-broken enclosure with precast pieces suspended from a stainless-steel frame, ensuring an airtight and energy-efficient facade. With a predicted Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 53, significantly below the regional benchmark of 182 for similar institutions, the project achieves an impressive energy reduction of over 70%, surpassing building code efficiency standards. The museum's commitment to sustainability extends to state-of-the-art air handling units and a dehumidification system, contributing to optimal building performance while minimizing energy consumption.
The Bruce’s design reflects a conscientious approach to environmental stewardship. The integration of native flora in its grounds supports regional habitat restoration, demonstrating the museum's mission to showcase the intricate relationship between natural sciences and the arts. The design process prioritized material selection, employing a materials red list to avoid hazardous substances and promote equitable labor practices.
This careful consideration extends to durability, ensuring the museum's longevity and reducing resource demand over its lifecycle. Furthermore, the museum emphasizes adaptability, resilience, and reuse, acknowledging the fluid nature of the future and incorporating flexible design principles for ongoing relevance, regardless of evolving cultural or environmental conditions.