(Cleveland, Ohio, October 13, 2023) – The Cleveland Museum of Natural History recently unveiled their renovated Visitor Hall, designed by DLR Group. In an unveiling event on October 13, guests were the first to see the new, 14,650-SF space, which creates a free community gathering space to learn about the natural history of northeast Ohio and beyond.

This completed project is part of a multi-phase renovation partnership with the Museum, which will conclude at the end of 2024. This project builds upon DLR Group’s decades-long relationship with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History dating to 1955. Inspired by the Museum’s commitment to sustainability and its relationship with surrounding bodies of water, alluvial shapes within the design create a single and continuous form that ties together current and previous additions. The transformation of the Museum includes the new Visitor Hall, new gallery and café additions on Wade Oval, Cleveland’s cultural park, two new wings called the Dynamic Earth Wing and Evolving Life Wing, a new education wing including classrooms and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Community Space, a hub for community-oriented programming, and consolidation of all research and collection storage. The project is targeted for a Silver LEED certification with the potential for a Gold LEED certification.

DLR Group project team members were on site to celebrate the unveiling. Principal and Design Leader Mark Morris said, “Witnessing our design vision materialize in the newly conceived Visitor Hall is incredibly rewarding. Our goal was to create an inclusive environment, welcoming every member of the community to explore the wonders of the natural world. We look forward to continuing and completing this project with CMNH into 2024.”

The new Visitor Hall is now open and free to the public.