Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Natural History Building has seen three major building additions since 1894, creating a complex of distinct structural systems and disparate, inefficient spaces. Driven by an urgent need to structurally stabilize a portion of the complex, LCM’s comprehensive renovation presented an opportunity to unify a fragmented interior, improve navigation, and thoroughly modernize the building while reviving its historic character.

Two departments with different subject matter and cultures share the building. Sustainability, the natural world, and tradition – common values to the School of Earth Science and the Environment and the School of Integrative Biology – guided design decisions to create visual and functional unity through light, color and materials selection.

Flexible, dynamic spaces integrate contemporary tools to accommodate collaborative learning and teaching methods. The successful fusion of the contemporary and traditional is apparent throughout the building. This fusion is particularly palpable in the Core and the Grand Stairs where the use of restored, reclaimed, and salvaged materials and elements return the spaces to their original grandeur.