Ennead Architects and Kahler Slater, together with the Milwaukee Public Museum, have unveiled the design for a new five-story, 200,000-square-foot museum building atop a 2.4-acre site in Milwaukee’s Haymarket neighborhood. It is on track to be the largest cultural project to date in the city. 

According to the project team, four core principles influenced the museum’s design: community, nature, education, and the preservation of the museum’s vast collections. It aims to reflect Wisconsin's rich natural history, drawing inspiration from the geological formations within Mill Bluff State Park, while establishing a new community space and educational destination. The museum will also be a hub for research. 

The building's material palette will primarily comprise concrete and glass, with an exterior texture that mirrors the ancient sea stacks present in the state park. The museum will have rounded corners that are reminiscent of the erosion and weathering of the glacial landscapes that shaped much of Wisconsin. Additionally, the convergence of Milwaukee’s three rivers, the Milwaukee, Kinnickinnic, and Menomonee, inspire the three distinct entrances within the museum’s interior commons. 

The first floor of the museum will feature a naturally-lit common atrium that will act as a community center for guests and the public to convene. The four upper levels will include the exhibit spaces designed by Thinc Design and will include permanent and changing galleries of multi-sensory exhibits. The building’s fluid layout will enable users to engage with collection spaces and objects that are typically left behind closed doors.

The museum will include two gardens, one near the entrance and one on the roof, which will house native Milwaukee flora in an effort to reintroduce them into the city’s urban environment. The rooftop will host permanent exhibits and a butterfly vivarium. The museum also features a planetarium, office and lab space, classrooms and flexible space, dining, and an offsite 50,000-square-foot storage space for additional collections. 

The Milwaukee Public Museum’s new home is expected to break ground in late 2023 and open in 2026.