(CLEVELAND, June 24, 2019) – DLR Group announced today that it has been selected to design the next phases of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s  Centennial Transformation Project. DLR Group is a long-time design partner of CMNH and has completed numerous projects for the museum over the past 50 years, including the AIA Award-winning Nathan and Fannye Shafran Planetarium.

CMNH is located five miles east of downtown Cleveland in University Circle, a 550-acre concentration of educational, cultural, and medical institutions. Situated prominently on Wade Oval in the heart of the Cultural District, CMNH flanks the Doan Brook Watershed, which flows to the interconnected Lake Erie and the Great Lakes system.

CMNH initiated its multiphase Centennial Transformation Project more than 10 years ago. Our integrated design team of architects, engineers, interior designers, and technology design experts are currently at work on the Gateway Projects phase. Set to finish in late 2020 in time to coincide with the museum’s centennial celebration, the Gateway Projects phase encompasses the renovation of the Murch Auditorium and the museum courtyard, and incorporates a new exhibit area devoted to current scientific discoveries.

The next phase, which is expected to break ground in 2021, includes a two-story addition to accommodate new exhibits and research on one level and collections storage on another level. Renovations to the museum lobby will follow and include consolidating two remote entries into a new grand visitor’s hall, renovations to the gift shop, and expansion of the café to increase the museum’s prominence on Wade Oval. Subsequent phases of the project include renovation of additional education, research, and gallery spaces, and are expected to complete in 2025. Once all phases of the entire Centennial Transformation Project are complete, the museum will encompass nearly 300,000 SF of space to house its 5 million artifacts.