Greensboro Science Center – SciQuarium Expansion

Housing a science museum, zoo and aquarium, the Greensboro Science Center is one of the state’s premier facilities, attracting over 375,000 visitors each year. The SciQuarium, North Carolina’s first center-of-state aquarium, is one of the most popular areas in the Science Center, allowing visitors to engage with animal keepers and educators to learn about various types of animals and fish, as well as the science of animal care, husbandry and water quality management. Lindsey Architecture worked with the Science Center to provide project management and the design for this addition to the SciQuarium, the Wiseman Aquarium Expansion. This 5,000SF expansion adds to the primary aquarium component of the Center, housing roughly 20 exhibit tanks in the area open to the public. The behind-the-scenes spaces represent an even more complex part of the aquarium, one that supports the necessary equipment needed to maintain the tanks and the exhibits. The nature of the project required a great deal of collaboration among the full project team – the design team, Greensboro Science Center staff, the City of Greensboro and the construction team – to ensure a functional and enjoyable space for visitors to experience. Lindsey Architecture also planned carefully and worked as efficiently as possible with the team to ensure adherence to the budget.

Since this addition to the SciQuarium is located at the public front to the Center, another important part of the expansion involved designing a new “face” to the building. From an aesthetic point of view, the new expansion works seamlessly with an earlier major expansion, blending in while also adding a distinctive flair and a clear statement as the first architectural element people experience when approaching the Center.