Monterey Bay Aquarium Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education & Leadership

The Bechtel Family Center for Ocean Education and Leadership of the Monterey Bay Aquarium represents a significant investment in furthering the institution's mission to inspire the next generation of ocean conservation leaders. This new 25,500 square foot facility enables the Aquarium to offer its unique hands-on educational programs, free of charge, to the 80,000 students who visit annually.

Designed with three distinct public faces, the Education Center actively and passively engages with its surroundings. Along Cannery Row, a two-story entryway draws visitors into a new public exhibit space. Facing the Monterey Bay Coastal Recreation Trail, a transparent entrance maintains views of the bay, with a raised planter bed providing seating for visitors. Along Hoffman Avenue, glazed walls offer views into the building, where suspended exhibits animate the space.

A three-story glazed volume housing a dynamic main stair, encouraging visitors to explore the building by utilizing it over the elevator. Platform seating at the base of the stair provides seating space for students and staff and is equipped with power. An enlarged extension of the intermediate stair landing into the platform seating area provides a prime stage for presentations.

The ground floor features operable partitions for flexibility, while the second floor houses four STEM learning that are designed intentionally without a traditional “front of room” and open up to wide views of the ocean. These classrooms showcase live animal exhibits supported by a closed-loop seawater life support system. The third floor accommodates traditional and open office spaces, separated by a central core for acoustic considerations. The fourth floor houses a rooftop pavilion and educational green roof overlooking the bay. Outdoor educational programming was envisioned for the space to allow for learners to connect lessons with real world applications.

Sustainability is woven into the project, with passive cooling in major spaces and a backup battery system powered by a photovoltaic array, eliminating the need for fossil fuel backup generators. This microgrid not only enhances the project's sustainability but also provides resilience to the local community.

With flexibility as a core design principle, the Education Center is adaptable for the future, maximizing sustainability and longevity.