Sewell, New Jersey, USA
“Just as the site itself offers a window into the earth’s deep past and the devastation of mass extinction, the highly sustainable, net-zero energy building looks to the earth’s future and the critical importance of planetary stewardship in the Anthropocene,” states Thomas J. Wong, AIA, Design Partner at Ennead.
Ennead Architects and KSS Architects, together with landscape architects SEED Design and Yaki Miodovnik and with museum planning by Gallagher & Associates, have created a new 44,000ft2 hybrid mass timber facility for the Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park and Museum of Rowan University, which will feature immersive fossil galleries, research workshops and hands-on learning experiences, full-scale skeletal reconstructions of prehistoric beasts, and a virtual reality chamber that transports guests back to the time of dinosaurs as well as a theater and event space, nature trails, paleo-themed playground and a veranda-wrapped cafe overlooking the 4-acre quarry.
The new development will feature a museum and visitor center, a fossil preparation lab, a nature trail, a paleontology-themed playground, social spaces to accommodate special events, and areas for visitors to participate in paleontological digs at the site.
The museum is situated within an active dinosaur fossil dig site in Southern New Jersey which contains thousands of fossils and provides a view into life in the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago.
Once a shallow ocean environment, then used for mining for over a century, the site is now a 4-acre quarry, encompassed by a 65-acre property, where “citizen scientists” can dig for fossils, alongside leading paleontologists at Rowan University.
The design concept for this remarkable site was envisioned as a set of metaphorical camera obscuras, where a tiny portal offers a realm beyond.
The site itself, the experience, and the architecture are all envisioned as a series of lenses.
The deep-time perspective that the fossil record offers inspired an architecture that nestles within the natural landscape as a series of small-scale pavilions which frame the evidence of past worlds while encouraging engagement with the present moment.
At 44,000 square feet, the museum acts as a learning and research center as well as an exhibit experience, with laboratory space and programs geared to both paleontologists and “citizen scientists.”
The museum will feature three immersive galleries with fossils from the late Cretaceous period, full-scale reconstructions of extinct creatures, hands-on learning experiences, live animal attractions, virtual reality, connections to the natural world, and community gathering spaces.
This unique park will lead a transformation of STEM education through a one-of-a-kind, hands-on center for discovery and research.
The project incorporates features such as geothermal, wells for ground-source heating and cooling systems and a photovoltaic solar field, 100% of the energy used by the museum will come from a combination of green energy available in New Jersey’s power grid and renewable energy produced on-site.
No fossil fuels will be combusted for museum operations and no greenhouse gasses will be released into the atmosphere.
In addition, the surrounding grounds will restore plant and animal habitat and other key landscape features.
The building utilizes heavy timber and cross-laminated timber structure as well as wood cladding to maximize the use of renewable materials.
Once completed in 2023, the Edelman Fossil Park Museum is slated to be the largest public net-zero emissions building in New Jersey and the first Living Building Challenge project to achieve Zero Energy Certification in the state.
Project: Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park and Museum of Rowan University
Architects: Ennead Architects LLP.
Design Team: Thomas Wong, Don Weinreich, Marissa Sweig Trigger, Julia Chapman, Ursula Trost, Kailey Baker, Luccas Dias, Darla Elsbernd, Bettine Gachstetter, Masha Konopleva, Eliza Montgomery, and Stine Pederse
Architects of Record: KSS Architects
Experience Designers: Gallagher & Associates
Landscape Architects: SEED Design/Yaki Miodovnik
Engineers and Sustainability: BuroHappold Engineering
Client: Rowan University
