'Transformational reimagining': MOSH unveils new designs for $85 million-plus facility for downtown Jacksonville

The Museum of Science and History has released updated renderings of its proposed $85 million-plus new location at the Shipyards development on Jacksonville's Northbank.

Currently in an aging building on the Southbank, the museum plans to relocate by late 2026 or early 2027.

The museum's architecture committee spent eight months studying on-site evaluation, property data, community input and direction from the MOSH site committee. The goal is to expand capacity and to serve more students and visitors.

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"Their design is immediately recognizable and surpasses what we had imagined for the iconic museum that our community deserves," museum CEO Bruce Fafard said.

Design concept inspired by 'flow of the water'

Created by global design firm DLR Group, the so-called MOSH Genesis project "is inspired by the movement and flow of the water that has played such an important role in the history of Jacksonville," according to MOSH. DLR is working with Jacksonville firm Kasper Architects & Associates.

Terraces will rise from the river toward the city, with a spiral path connecting the lower level to a roof terrace and connecting three themed exhibition spaces: the Natural Ecosystem, the Cultural Ecosystem and the Innovation Ecosystem. The roof terrace, which will be used for events, overlooks the river with a 360-degree view of downtown.

"This transformational reimagining of the museum reinforces MOSH’s role as a vital civic institution and a destination for accessible, immersive and technologically advanced experiences while honoring its historic commitment to education," said Vanessa Kassabian, principal and senior design leader of DLR Group.

The release of the new designs followed MOSH’s inaugural Galaxy fundraiser on Saturday, a sold-out black-tie gala that drew about 500 people and generated about $500,000. A preview of the renderings won a standing ovation, Fafard said.

The museum has raised about $33 million of the initial $85 million cost estimate. But that estimate was developed in 2018 and, given supply chain shortages and other economic issues that have arisen since, "we do expect costs to go up," he said.

A new estimate is due in about a week.

Multiple other decisions have to be made before construction can begin. One of the most important is the selection of an exhibit designer, which is due in 30 to 60 days.

Space constraints used to limit the capability of the museum's exhibits and whether traveling exhibits could make stops at MOSH, he said. But the Shipyards building will be 130,000 square feet, compared to 74,000 square feet — 52,000 usable — at the current Southbank museum.

"The big steps that we will start working on is what the exhibits are going to be, what we're going to carry over [from the existing building] and how we'll reimagine new ones," Fafard said. "We get to enlarge all our exhibits."

Museum designs follow neighbor USS Orleck

Museum officials are also working on a lease with the city, which was able to move forward after the Downtown Development Authority approved plans for the 4-acre site in January. The museum and the city are working on a $1-a-year lease for the 2.5 acre-building site and a 1.5-acre "partnership parcel" that will include park space and room for the Riverwalk.

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MOSH initially planned a huge renovation to its existing facility but soon determined that a new building would be a better option. Renovations would have meant shutting down the museum for up to two years; the new facility would require no more than two or three months of transition, Fafard said earlier.

Multiple attempts have been made over the last decade to develop the Shipyards, which gets its name from its past use as a working waterfront. Plans for large-scale commercial and residential development, including proposals by Jaguars owner Shad Khan, have come, gone or been put on hiatus.

The new museum will occupy the east side of the Shipyards site. The USS Orleck arrived in Jacksonville in March to become a floating museum docked at one of the piers on the western side.

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Meanwhile, the state Department of Environmental Protection will decide whether it will let the city swap part of the Shipyards as replacement park land for a piece of Metropolitan Park that used to house Kids Kampus. The former Kids Kampus is where Khan wants to build a planned Four Seasons Hotel and Residences.

The land swap would let the city move forward with plans to turn the western half of the Shipyards into a park. The site has ground contamination but the city would cover it with several feet of new dirt.

For more information or to donate online, go to themosh.org/mosh-genesis. Text donations can be made at MOSH44321.

[email protected], (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 'Transformational' design unveiled for new MOSH site in Jacksonville