Science Museum of Virginia – Dewey Gottwald Center

The Science Museum of Virginia embarked on an ambitious campaign to renovate the existing museum and expand with the addition of the Dewey Gottwald Center, a $12 million facility that offers dynamic spaces for events and meetings. CCS managed the development of the 32,820-square-foot addition to the existing museum, which serves as a location for the museum’s large-scale traveling exhibitions during the summer months and as a venue for community events the rest of the year. The center also allows the museum to accommodate large-scale private events for more than 1,000 people as well as house smaller spaces for corporate meetings with additional break-out spaces.

Features include state-of-the-art media, audio and lighting systems; and controlled humidity, temperature, and lighting levels for national caliber traveling exhibits. The project also involved the preparation of the main concourse gallery, including demolition of a 3,200-square-foot mezzanine area and refurbishment of historic windows.

A section of the concourse had alterations to allow for the installation of a full-scale Lockheed SR-71 plane, including the structural support needed to hold the aircraft. CCS also performed the site design for grading and drainage, including provisions for abnormal rain events, grading design for the site and relief points to ensure that water moved around the structure, and not in it, during heavy rain events. The Engineering News-Record honored this project as the ENR Mid-Atlantic Best Project winner in the cultural/worship category. This project’s design goal was to achieve a LEED Gold certification.