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Florida, The Children’s Museum of New Jersey, and The Knock Knock Children’s Museum in Louisiana. Haizlip’s niche in the architecture industry developed around 1989, when the Memphis native returned to his hometown to work on the children’s museum there. Since that time, Haizlip says the design and construction of such facilities adheres to the ongoing evolution of so- ciety and the subsequent impact it has on the standards and expecta- tions of child rearing. “Childhood changed,” he says. “Cities grew. Both parents went to work. Security concerns intensified. Risk is avoided. And, media occu- pies a majority of childhood recreational time. The list goes on. Where there is a vacuum, educators, parents, communities, and funders have stepped in to provide places for the imagination to roam and soar.” Looking ahead, Haizlip sees children’s museums at the center of edu- cation and learning. “What began as a museum type for children to have a safe educa- tional place to play has changed into a movement based on the im- portance of hands-on learning in childhood development and fam- ily recreation,” he says. “Health, equality, workforce development in technology and art, exposure to the humanities – these museums are the sleeper cells of child education, and are powerful forces for good.” Haizlip said the Amazeum was built so that each side has its own sto- ry to tell, and each façade has its own distinct architectural charac- ter. On the east, the building has a statuesque presence, while on the south the building’s scale is reduced to compliment the play gardens. The west side rises to receive visitors at the entrance whereas the north successfully conceals the building’s utility side. Haizlip was part of the site selection process – several areas were un- der early consideration – and he said he was a strong advocate for the northeast corner of Northeast J Street and Museum Way, the loca- tion where the museum was ultimately built. In Haizlip’s estimation, the site was ideal for a variety of reasons. “Proximity to Crystal Bridges was an irresistible tug, but the site also possessed near perfect assets to accommodate planned learning expe- riences while hosting a charismatic anchor building,” he says. “From a planning standpoint, at 5.2-acres, the site had capacities for secure outdoor play, a structure to meet program needs with expansion, and sufficient parking for strong visitation. From a design standpoint, the site demanded a work of civic architectural stature to anchor the cor- ner, while providing ideal orientation for interior museum spaces to be bathed in natural daylight, and outdoor spaces to be used in tune with seasonal cycles. These were driving design forces.” As the design process got underway, Haizlip says Crystal Bridges, de- signed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, was a constant source of inspiration. “One overriding challenge was how to design a discovery museum to complement one of the most elegant and exemplary fine art muse- ums of the last quarter century,” he says. “We approached the design with an ever-present awareness that whatever we proposed could not detract from, and should only heighten, the Crystal Bridges Museum visitor experience.”

CROSS SECTION WITH EXHIBITS SCALE: 1/8” = 1’ -0”

OBER 19, 2015, ISSUE 1124

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