Designed to help the Mark Twain House better serve its 65,000 annual visitors, the new Museum Center includes exhibition galleries, theatres, classrooms, and a cafe. The center hosts many school groups, as well as adult visitors and special events. Working closely with Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Shen Milsom & Wilke designed state-of-the art multimedia technologies in the theater, distance-learning classrooms, and the 178-seat lecture hall. The latter, which hosts concerts, lectures, and group meetings, features film, slide, and LCD projectors, as well as videoconferencing capabilities. The small theater offers general audiovisual and easy-to-operate control systems.

Shen Milsom & Wilke designed the telecommunications cabling throughout, connecting the new center with the campus’ existing communications systems.

Acoustics are an important consideration in any large space that hosts groups of talkative children. Yet the owners didn’t want an atmosphere that made the youngsters feel hushed. The result is an acoustical design that, thanks to high-end finishes and careful ceiling treatments, minimizes clatter, yet allows some sound from the various exhibits to spill into adjacent spaces, drawing the visitors onward and increasing their sense of anticipation.

Photos courtesy: The Mark Twain House & Museum

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