The Marine Mammal Center

Sustainable By Nature

The Marine Mammal Center is a critical first responder to the threats to marine ecosystems, leading the field in ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue, veterinary medicine, science, and education. HGA was originally hired to reimagine the office spaces, but the project soon morphed to include an entry experience to attract and educate visitors to the Marine Mammal Center.

In the spirit of community action, the designers conducted programming and test fits pro bono, and created a Virtual Reality model as both a means for the client to visualize the completed project and a marketing tool which helped the Center fundraise quickly for donations. As a result, the project is majority funded by financial gifts.

The project includes a new entry area, exhibit and education area, event space, and flex space. The exhibit hall features murals on three sides and glass on the fourth. Combined with projected lights that mimic the ocean, the hall gives visitors the sense of being underwater. The challenge was creating space for a variety of exhibits within a small space. Flexibility was the key component, optimizing the space for multiple uses and keeping furniture entirely moveable.

Because a key goal of the Marine Mammal Center is to educate the public on environmental issues affecting the oceans and what they can do to help, no single-use plastic was used in the project. The Visitor Center is PVC-free and, despite the major transformation of the space, as many elements were reused as possible, including display cases and furniture. Designers also explored a public-facing experience during the time of Covid, where visitors could be safely checked in and spread out in the exhibits.