Science Museum
Location
Virginia, USA
Year
2025
A riverfront power plant reborn as a science museum—industrial heritage recast as a vibrant cultural campus.
Reimagining a de‑commissioned power plant on the New River as a future home for the Science Museum of Western Virginia.
The 2030 relocation anchors a broader riverfront transformation—nearly one million square feet of reclaimed industrial fabric envisioned as live/work, retail, and cultural space. Our preliminary plan revives the museum and its public edge, stitching new civic life to the water.
An adaptive‑reuse strategy that preserves character while adding performance.
To keep the factory’s picturesque patina, a new structural and environmental “skin” wraps the existing shell, while public amenities and clear axes organize movement through a central plaza. The retained smokestack becomes an industrial obelisk around which refaced and new volumes gather; inside, a soaring, cathedral‑like hall sets the tone for immersive science exhibits.