Educating by example

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Dallas, TX, USA

Formed by the merger of three museums, the Morphosis Perot Museum of Nature and Science provides five stories of space for exhibitions and educational activities. The museum includes an auditorium, extensive visitor amenities, and an attractive outdoor area.

Challenge

Buro Happold was appointed as MEP and energy consultants on the project. A key challenge for our team was to demonstrate how our proposed solutions would work with the architectural design. We were also tasked with creating a high performance design that would lead the highest level of sustainability possible for a building of its type.

Solution

Our team used Building Information Modeling (BIM) to create a comprehensive plan of the museum and simulate our proposed solutions within the building form. This allowed us to analyze and refine our options before integrating them efficiently within the wider program, resulting in a cost-effective, accurate and well-coordinated construction schedule.

We implemented a comprehensive water recycling strategy that diverts storm water run-off and the condensation from mechanical equipment into two cisterns, which in turn treat the water to varying levels depending on its nature. These cisterns are themselves interlocked to allow intelligent water sharing so that the newly treated water can be redistributed around the site as required. In keeping with the educational purpose of the museum, our team devised a dash port that would show visitors the various uses of this recycled water.

Value

Our work to develop a water strategy met 100% of the building’s irrigation needs and generated 70% potable water savings for sewage conveyance. This, combined with the integration of a number of sustainable features, formed a vital component in attaining LEED Gold certification.