The new world class, HGA-designed museum will serve the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area
Acclaimed national interdisciplinary design firm, HGA, is pleased to celebrate the construction launch of the new Northern Virginia Science Center in Sterling, Virginia in Loudoun County. A partnership between the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation and the Science Museum of Virginia, the Northern Virginia Science Center has received substantial public and private support from partners across the region. The museum is expected to serve more than 300,000 visitors annually.
Built on a STEM-based education platform, the museum will feature exhibitions developed around science-focused themes: Habitat, Human, Helios, and Flow. Visitors will be able to create art and music using real-time internet data, construct an outpost on the Moon, investigate Earth’s habitats by land, air, and sea, and harness the power of the human brain.
Located in the Kincora mixed-use development, the 70,000-square-foot interactive museum will be constructed on a sloping site facing the Broad Run, a preserved natural site that hosts a colony of more than 50 heron nests. The site choice was a crucial step toward differentiating the museum as an institution with a visitor experience that blurs the lines between interior exhibit spaces and its natural surroundings, offering expanded access to nature and room for future growth. With biophilic elements incorporated into the design, visitors will have one foot in nature and one foot in an urban setting. The building’s location, massing, material selections and visitor circulation path all work in concert to reinforce the presence of these contrasting, adjacent environments.
“HGA has created a highly efficient and practical architectural program combined within an inspiring design that speaks to the essence of our mission, the aspirations of our community and the unique surroundings of the technology corridor and nature preserve,” said Adalene “Nene” Spivy, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation.
Flexible, Adaptable and Energy Efficient
Starting at the entry plaza, boundaries blur between architecture and exhibit. The main entry welcomes visitors beneath a steel honeycomb canopy, a striking feature that seamlessly extends from the exterior into the lobby and an architectural metaphor for the “flow” of cloud computing in today’s digital world. Inside, organic wall forms guide patrons toward immersive exhibits designed to ignite curiosity and inspire discovery. The plan takes its inspiration from flow dynamics to softly suggest a path of travel, easing the edges, while the choice of where to go next always remains with the visitor. A grand staircase makes visitors more aware of the transitions in scale while slowly revealing visual access to nature.
Taller spaces and longer spans upstairs allow for larger black box exhibit spaces with more intimate, daylit areas for smaller exhibit galleries down the hill. Large windows and strategically placed sightlines connect the interior experience to the landscape outside as visitors move deeper into the museum, linking programming and exhibits to the outside terrain.
Cascading terraces are joined by an exterior stairway encouraging visitors to explore site features like the pollinator garden just north of the building. Architecturally, more refined machined materials and surfaces face the street, while the architecture facing the nature preserve is designed to human scale with a warmer material palette.
In alignment with the Science Center’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the project minimizes the use of concrete, integrates sustainable construction techniques, and incorporates innovative teaching moments throughout. Traditional lawns have been replaced with fields of clover to reduce irrigation needs while educating visitors on the importance of biodiversity and water conservation.
“With its innovative exhibits and commitment to sustainability, this transformative institution will leave a lasting impact on the region’s educational landscape by inspiring a love of STEM learning in the region.” said Laura Henderson, architect and Washington, DC office director at HGA. “Our firm is part of the community, and our passion for this project will be evident on opening day.”
An Experienced Museum Design Team
A national leader in museum facility design, HGA leads the team as both designer and architect of record. To deliver a world class museum visitor experience, HGA assembled a team of industry experts, partnering with Roto, a premier exhibit design and production firm serving the museum, aquarium, zoo, and attraction markets, and Balfour Betty, a prominent contractor. Additional partner firms include Mueller Associates providing mechanical and electrical engineering, Greenway as civil engineer, Downey & Scott as cost estimator, Rhodeside & Harwell as landscape architect, SDC as sustainable design consultant, CPL Architects (previously Commonwealth Architects), and several other certified Virginia-based Small, Women-owned, and Minority-owned Business (SWaM) partners. The team has worked in concert with Science Museum of Virginia and Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation leadership to design a patron-centered museum accessible to all.
The Construction Launch Party occurred on Monday, March 31, on Knowledge Drive, where the Northern Virginia Science Center is located. The museum is scheduled to open in 2027. Learn more about the Northern Virginia Science Center: www.novasci.org.
Project partners:
- Roto
- Balfour Beatty
- Polysonics
- Greenway
- Mueller
- SDC
- RHI
- DGA
- CPL Architects
- Jaffe Holden
About HGA
HGA is a national interdisciplinary design firm committed to making a positive, lasting impact for our clients and communities through research-based, holistic solutions. We believe that great design requires a sense of curiosity—forming deep insight into our clients, their contexts, and the human condition. We are a collective of more than 1,000 architects, engineers, interior designers, planners, researchers, and strategists. Our practice spans multiple markets, including science and technology, corporate, cultural, education, local and federal government, and healthcare. Visit HGA.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
