Renovated Cleveland Museum of Natural History Earns Top Energy Efficiency LEED Building Certification
The $150-million renovation of the 100-year-old Cleveland Museum of Natural History is ready for its public closeup and to celebrate a historic new environmental laurel bestowed on the facility.
The U.S. Green Building Council has certified the newly redesigned museum with its LEED v4 Building Design and New Construction’s Platinum certification. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History work, led in design reinvention by DLR Group since 2019, has been repurposed both to align its architecture with the nature and science it celebrates, but also achieve long-term sustainability practices.
LEED is short for Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design. The Platinum designation is LEED’s top honor for energy efficient and sustainable building design.
“As a leading cultural institution and a champion of a better future for both humans and the planet, the Museum’s new architecture reflects its mission,” said Sonia Winner, Museum President & CEO. “Through our partnership with DLR Group, our transformation aligns the exterior of our building with the exhibits within. It is architecture in service of our natural world."
The project reimagines an existing 217,250 square foot facility, located prominently within Cleveland’s cultural district, to more than 375,000 square feet with more than 2 acres of outdoor visitor areas.
The project includes a new Visitor Hall, lobby, and exhibit wing with new exhibits. The Museum’s reconceptualized exhibits feature an integrated storyline of planetary and biological processes.
The Museum’s mission for the project is to educate the community on connection and impact of humans towards the natural environment. DLR Group designed a sustainability feature to be on display by activating the primary façade of the new wing.
“With LEED Platinum certification, the Museum sets a new standard for natural history museums,” said DLR Group Principal and Global Architecture Leader Joshua Haney. “Using the past to inform our present to build a better future combined with a collaborative strategy, we produced a beautiful, energy-efficient building that elevates the human experience through design.”
During rain events, stormwater runoff is reduced by capturing rainfall from the roof through a gutter that daylights storm water through the GFRC cladding onto the alvar stone outcropping below. A rain garden with native plants reduces stormwater runoff by absorbing rainfall from the roof.
Key Sustainability Highlights:
- Water Management: In addition to the visible stormwater runoff, plumbing fixtures reduce indoor potable water use by 37 percent.
- Restoration and Wildlife Protection: Restoring over 50 percent of the site with native vegetation and trees reduced outdoor potable water use by 60 percent, mitigated heat island effects, and supported pollinators and birds. Bird-friendly glass and minimized light pollution protect wildlife.
- Energy Efficiency: A mix of passive strategies (low-e glazing, R-30 roof insulation, shading) and active systems (HVAC plant with efficient heat recovery chiller, solar photovoltaic arrays) reduced energy use by 32 percent compared to ASHRAE 90.1-2010 standards. Post-occupancy monitoring is in place to optimize performance.
- Carbon Reduction: A Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction study showed a greater than 10 percent reduction in embodied carbon for the new spaces.
- Sustainable Materials: The project diverted over 75 percent of construction waste from landfills, and interior designers prioritized materials with environmental product declarations (EPDs) and verified sourcing.
- Indoor Environmental Quality: Low-VOC materials, optimized acoustics, and daylight access for 95 percent of occupied spaces enhance comfort and health.
The Museum’s official opening celebration for the general public is slated for this Friday through Sunday.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which dates back to the 1830s but located at its current facility in the 1920s, contracted DLR Group beginning in 2019. Groundbreaking on the new visitor hall, lobby and exhibit wing began in 2021.
Energy efficiency is often nicknamed the "first fuel" in decarbonizing the economy through building projects on reducing consumption or recycling materials. ABI Research put out a report forecasting that aggregated global investment in energy efficiency could rise from the current $104 billion annually to $153 million by the start of the next decade.
