The Thinkery
This new building expresses the museum’s vision for learning and provides a community marker for the growing Mueller neighborhood in Austin.
Its simple form includes gallery spaces housing permanent and temporary exhibits, program rooms, and support space. The building wraps an outdoor exhibit space that connects to a community courtyard and public “paseo.” Given the climate, shade is key: glass is used strategically to strengthen indoor/outdoor connections and maintain visitor comfort.
Within a year of the new building’s opening, membership increased five-fold and annual visitors more than tripled. Workshops on everything from soldering to cow eye dissection have been enthusiastically attended, school tours fill six months in advance, and in the evenings millennials line up the length of the paseo to attend special events.
STATUS
Completed 2013, LEED Silver
LOCATION
Austin, Texas
CLIENT
Austin Children's Museum
TEAM
STG Design
PROGRAM
35,000 SF Children's Museum
AWARDS + RECOGNITION
2016 ULI Austin Impact Award: Public Places
2014 Texas Society Of Architects Design Award
2014 ABJ Commercial Rest Estate Award - Community Impact
