Young At Art Museum & Broward County Library represents an innovative and unique public-private partnership between Young At Art, a leading not-for-profit children’s art museum, and the Broward County Libraries Division. One of the main goals for the 57,500-square-foot LEED Gold certified project was to develop a new concept for a public space that integrates innovative, educational, and environmentally-sensitive strategies, while also serving as a model on regional and national scales.

Opened in 2012, the $20 million Young At Art Museum & Broward County Library is the brainchild of Mindy Shrago, an artist and the Executive Director of Young At Art. Shrago’s vision started small with a storefront in Plantation, Florida, and almost three decades later she was ready to give that vision a fitting and permanent home. Shrago hired Glavovic Studio and AECOM after a nationwide search. Glavovic Studio master planned, programmed and designed a space that would hold a children’s art museum, art institute, and branch of the Broward County Library System.

The art institute consists of art studios for painting, ceramics, 3D graphics and photography. There is also a teen center, a large shared area for the library and café, conference areas and a reading room. The main museum area includes four major exhibit areas and a changing exhibit space, along with administration space and numerous outdoor programmed spaces.

The design concept is inspired by children and their experience of this particular place in South Florida, of making connections inside and outside. There is also careful consideration of the relationship between children and space and the interaction among children in the production of ideas. The architecture is legible, to demonstrate a mission of creativity and sustainability. Structural, mechanical, infrastructural, and other systems are exposed throughout the building in a visually appealing way to enhance the space while offering opportunities to learn about the green building practices employed.