Selected Projects

New England Aquarium Addition | NIST Green Demonstration Project Grant

The New England Aquarium, located at historic Central Wharf on Boston's Inner Harbor, seeks to present, promote and protect the world of water. The Aquarium's initial planning has been assisted by a National Green Building Demonstration Planning Grant from the National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST). Schwartz/Silver were the lead architects and Croxton Collaborative Architects received the commission to address the environmental/sustainable dimensions of this extraordinarily challenging structure. The project has doubled the current Aquarium size, and refocused its central message to address issues relating to regional waters and shores.

The Aquarium 2000 committee had redefined the Aquarium's mission, shifting it from one of passive presentation to active involvement in aquatic conservation. The mission called for the Aquarium 'to enable people to act to conserve the world of water and to provide leadership for the preservation and sustainable use of aquatic resources'. Croxton Collaborative Architects has explored the use of specific 'green' technologies in the areas of systems controls, glazing, water quality, insulation, low impact materials, etc., which has received high visibility, and therefore accelerated assimilation. Through this process, the Aquarium has provided a unique educational venue with an audience in excess of one million a year, to demonstrate the superior performance of environmental/sustainable planning and design.