A new MOSH Museum has been announced for development at the 4-acre Shipyards site, which is owned by the city and located downtown of Jacksonville’s Northbank. The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) abandoned the previous plans for its existing Southbank location, which involved some renovation and expansion work on the building, and instead chose to build a new 133,000-square-foot museum at the city’s Shipyards property.
The DLR Group was selected as the designer for the new MOSH Museum and the company will be working alongside Kasper architects + associates and SCAPE. Several renderings have been revealed to give a glimpse of the new museum’s planned exterior, and the design concept which is inspired by the flow of water at the St. John River.
Features of the MOSH Museum complex
The three-story MOSH Museum complex has been designed to make the building look as though it emerges from the Northbank riverfront, through a series of terraces which will have helically-curved ramps. This will serve in linking the lower level to a rooftop terrace that offers sheltered event space, as well as sweeping views of downtown Jacksonville.
According to the CEO of MOSH, Bruce Fafard, the new museum at the Shipyards location is expected to open by 2024. He also mentioned that a MOSH 2.0 fundraising campaign which has raised up to $80 million since its inception in 2019, will now be used to finance the development of the museum’s new location along the St. Johns River.
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Chairwoman for the MOSH 2.0 campaign cabinet, Jill Davis mentioned that the new MOSH museum building would provide the city with a transformative centre for science, innovation and humanities in the downtown region.
Lenny Curry, Mayor of Jacksonville also spoke in favour of the new MOSH Museum project and commended the MOSH leaders for their commitment to Jacksonville’s downtown. Curry said MOSH has inspired the city’s residents of all ages to embrace the joy of lifelong learning for close to 80 years, and this bold, innovative vision cultivated by MOSH would inspire future generations and strengthen the city’s reputation as a prime destination in the Southeastern United States.
