Visionary and award-winning architect Rob Wellington Quigley has created a dynamic space for children at the Museum, full of natural light and fresh air. His design signals the Museum’s commitment to environmental sustainability.  

The New Children’s Museum is a dramatic, three-level, 50,000-square-foot building located on the north side of Island Avenue between Front and Union Streets. The Museum is a series of transparent, flexible spaces which visibly expose the building’s construction and design.

The building includes a 17-foot concrete entrance bridge, angled saw tooth roof structure, tilt-up concrete panels, and a glass-enclosed elevator shaft that functions as a heating and cooling tower.

The new structure utilizes innovative, environmentally sustainable architecture and infra-structural practices, including recycled building materials, a passive air handling system, photovoltaic panels, water-saving devices, natural daylighting and convection cooling. The New Children’s Museum is one of the first green museums in California. 

The nationally recognized San Diego architecture and design firm Luce et Studio contributed significantly to the Museum’s interior, while keeping true to the Museum’s “green” commitment. Luce designed the administration area furniture, including desks made of recycled road signs and a conference table of recycled steel. The studio also created the front desk system and the environment for Gizmo Garage.