Worcester Art Museum Higgins Envelope Improvements

The Higgins Education Wing (HEW) is a 45,000-square-foot, Brutalist-style educational and office building that is part of the Worcester Art Museum campus. Different components of the façade and roof needed replacement, restoration, and/or performance upgrades. This project called for the replacement of all exterior, steel framed, single-pane windows and doors throughout the building, totaling 60 units at 9,000 square feet of glazing. This resolved the issue of existing deteriorating and unsafe conditions as well as improving energy efficiency. The sloped asphalt roof was replaced by a clay tile to resemble the original. Less visible components like skylights and flat roofs were also replaced. A central challenge of this project was ensuring approval by the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) while improving energy efficiency and resilience standards for the next 50-100 years.

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FieLDworkshop found suitable product suppliers and a manufacturer of custom windows, working collaboratively through design details with vendors and the museum’s historic consultant to achieve a match that could be approved by the MHC and meet a very tight scheduling requirement.

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