The first objective of the centre is, of course, to support the principal missions of the

museum: to store, preserve, study, document, maintain and develop the collections.
To this end it will offer modern storage facilities meeting the standards for preventative
conservation, workshops for preparation and restoration, a photography studio and an
anoxic chamber for treatment to prevent the risk of infestations
Unlike the museum which displays what is to be seen, the centre houses what is not to be
seen: in other words, the museums reserves which, like a secret, are kept hidden behind the
scenes. Natural light enters through the carved-out core of this rock-like, rough-cast concrete
monolith.
Moving from the compressed space of the entry, a visitors gaze is drawn upward through
the soaring open volume of the sky-lit atrium, the buildings primary light-filled circulation
space, which houses the buildings stairs, escalators and elevators. From the ground floor, a
series of escalators bring patrons though the atrium to the uppermost level of the museum.
The intersection of these two ecologies defines the main entry plaza, a gathering and event
area for visitors and an outdoor public space for the city of Dallas. From the plaza, the
landscaped roof lifts up to draw visitors through a compressed space into the more
expansive entry lobby. The topography of the lobbys undulating ceiling reflects the
dynamism of the exterior landscape surface, blurring the distinction between inside and
outside, and connecting the natural with the manmade
The immersive experience of nature within the city begins with the visitors approach to the
museum, which leads through two native Texas ecologies: a forest of large native canopy
trees and a terrace of native desert xeriscaping. The xeriscaped terrace gently slopes up to
connect with the museums iconic stone roof.
The Museum will strive to achieve the highest standards of sustainability possible for a
building of its type. High performance design and incorporation of state of the art
technologies will yield a new building that will minimize its impact on the environment.
Designed to engage a broad audience, invigorate young minds, and inspire wonder and
curiosity in the daily lives of its visitors, the Museum will cultivate a memorable experience
that will persist in the minds of its visitors and that will ultimately broaden individuals and
societys understanding of nature and science.
The distinction between two construction systems, the first, stereotomic, defining the
concrete box that forms the main attributes of the exterior prism and its internal divisions,
and the second, tectonic, made by the combination of light elements that defines the
recessed openings, allows the simplification of the first construction phase of molds and
concrete and the adoption of a greater range of geometries in the light elements,
constituting an important plastic strategy, intrinsically connected to the construction logic.

The environmental qualification of the building is completed by the prevision of

complementary systems whose conception, dimensioning and design should
address an optimizing use of all resources during the lifetime of the building, as
following:

the definition of an air conditioning system with low energy

consumption;
the properly conception of greywater reuse systems and rainwater
catchment systems;

the design of a central control for lighting, security and surveillance;

the use of colors and materials that reflect light and the design of
the openings;
the prevision of intelligent elevators with digital control;
the use of solar heating system for water.
The translucent material provides protection from the sun and rain, is dirt-repellent
and allows ideal rear ventilation. It also meets exacting aesthetic requirements:
suspended in front of the faade in two layers, sun protection blinds are used to achieve
varying degrees of transparency, giving the building depending on the light conditions
an appearance ranging from solid structure to just about to dissolve.

The textile skin is a major design feature. The glass fibre fabric is attached to steel tubing
frames, which are up to 12 m high, using specially developed adapter profiles made of
aluminium. Springs in the holding profiles offset changes in length of the construction due to
temperature fluctuations, maintaining the tautness of the membrane.
The exterior glass fabric envelope protects the building from overheating in summer, and sun
protection blinds made of the same material are provided for the window areas. An
intentionally large volume of air in the area of the open-plan offices allows compensation of
local internal thermal loads and temperature fluctuations.