DLR Group to design new facility for Jacksonville’s Museum of Science & History
By David Malone, Managing Editor
The Museum of Science & History (MOSH) has selected DLR Group as the lead architect for the MOSH Genesis project on the Northbank of Downtown Jacksonville.
The new project will replace the current location on the Southbank of Downtown Jacksonville, where MOSH has been since 1969. Early projections show the new facility will be able to serve 58,000 students (a 50% increase over pre-pandemic numbers) and 469,000 visitors (a 168% increase) each year.
“MOSH will have a dramatic impact on the Jacksonville region, telling its unique story of human and natural history and culture, innovation and current science,” said DLR Group Senior Principal Paul Westlake, FAIA, who leads the firm’s Cultural+Performing Arts practice, in a release.
The new museum will comprise dedicated areas for exhibitions, classes, and events that will create an immersive experience reflective of Jacksonville’s history. The building will also incorporate a new space for the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium. The goal of the project is to reinforce MOSH’s role as a vital civic institution and a destination for accessible, immersive, and technologically advanced experiences.
DLR Group will work with kasper architects + associates and SCAPE on the project. The $85 million project is expected to take three years to build. Pre-construciton site work may begin as early as Q1 2022.