Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

In close collaboration with museum educators, program curators, and research scientists, Studio-MLA designed the Nature Gardens to work with and reveal natural processes with the goal of creating wildlife habitat and increasing urban biodiversity. The gardens serve as a laboratory for urban ecological research. Extending the Museum’s exhibits, events, and educational programming outdoors fosters hands-on learning and nature exploration in the heart of the city. Once a parking lot, the foreground of the Natural History Museum is now home to over 400 new plants – 70% of them native to the area – which provide habitat for insects, birds and mammals and serve as a research extension for the Museum.

CLIENT

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

SIZE

3.5 acres

LOCATION

Los Angeles, California

Project team

  • PSOMAS Engineering Civil Engineer
  • CO Architects Architect
  • Cordell Corporation Developer
  • Matt Construction Builder
  • Pace Engineers Water Engineer

AWARDS

  • 2014 Los Angeles Business Journal, Commercial Real Estate Awards for Best Public Project
  • 2013 Los Angeles Business Council, Landscape Architecture Awards
  • 2012 American Society of Landscape Architects, Southern California, Merit Award

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