Muse Knoxville is transforming the historic Jacob Building in Chilhowee Park into a vibrant children’s museum that honors its past while embracing an innovative, flexible future. The renewed structure will house evolving exhibit space, classrooms, laboratories, community event hall, planetarium, café, gift store, maker space, and support spaces. The site will also include a public playground and picnic area.
BarberMcMurry worked with the Muse to study the circulation flow, and gather stakeholder feedback, of different types of users — daily visitors, class groups, birthday groups, special events participants, and staff. The renovation will not only make essential upgrades to the Jacob Building, it will provide flexible, educational, and collaborative spaces for the children who visit, as well as accommodate significantly more visitors than the current Muse space can hold.
The new museum will encourage curiosity, provide educational opportunities, and promote career readiness. In the Jacob Building, the Muse will promote STEAM education for everyone.
The expansion of Muse Knoxville into the Jacob Building will celebrate the history and spirit of Chilhowee Park while providing new life to an under-utilized asset through thoughtful adaptive reuse. The site overlooks Lake Ottossee, where the original Liberal Arts Building was constructed for the Appalachian Exposition in Chilhowee Park in 1910. The Jacob Building replaced the Liberal Arts Building after it was destroyed by fire.
The exhibit designer is LUCI Creative.
Type: Addition/Renovation
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Services: Architecture, Interior Design
Use: Cultural
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