FAIRBANKS MUSEUM & PLANETARIUM

In late 2019, the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium (FMP), a natural history museum in St. Johnsbury, VT, invited three architectural firms to participate in a conceptual design competition for a new science annex to the historic Lambert Packard building. FMP selected VIA’s submission and the design continued to evolve as the project developed. The project’s main goals were to increase universal accessibility with several modifications, including an elevator, as a means to improve access to the museum’s balcony level exhibits, accessible parking, basement programming spaces, and site. Additionally, there was a desire to create space for interactive children’s science exhibits and to provide office and classroom spaces for the Community College of Vermont.

In 2020 the project scope expanded to include preservation and restoration work for the original 1890 building and its 1895 addition which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This included structural upgrades for the historic spires, sandstone repointing and restoration, slate roof and eyebrow window repairs, copper flashing and coping, interior restoration of finishes and historic millwork elements, full perimeter excavation for foundation repairs and waterproofing, and sitework for improved drainage.

Tucked behind the museum, the new Tang Science Annex does not detract from the Main Street view of the main building but rather was conceived as a “vitrine” which puts the historic structure on display in its own right. The FMP also desired a fully accessible rear yard where visitors could actively engage in outdoor programming alongside the second-oldest continually operated weather station in the U.S. Proximity to the weather station was a main driver for the museum’s massing and layout. Seeing opportunities to highlight connections with the natural influences of the site, VIA designed a scupper on the building’s eastern façade to capture and direct rain water to a catchment cistern, thereby slowing and mitigating its effect during a major rain event. Additionally, a strong north-south axis through the site connects two entry plazas and creates an accessible route. The southern terminus includes an analemmatic sundial designed by Robert Adzema.

The annex employs a mass timber structure using regionally-sourced Eastern Hemlock in a Cross-Laminated-Timber (CLT) application which is paired with a Black Spruce Glue-Laminated armature. The Annex is Vermont’s first CLT building while also being the first project in the world to employ Eastern Hemlock CLT. With a significantly lower carbon footprint than steel, mass timber offers a climate-conscious way to construct buildings. Employing Eastern Hemlock offers a potential new market for a regionally abundant and lower-value wood species. (See related article for more details about the mass timber used in this project.)

The building employs a high-performance building envelope, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, including a ground-source heat pump system which heats and cools the addition.