A "WINNING WEEK" FOR DUPAGE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM Prestigious Awards Given

MUSEUM HONORED TO RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS & MENTION

The first week of May 2016 has brought DuPage Children’s Museum shares in three prestigious awards: 2016 Chrysalis Remodeling Award, AIA Chicago Small Projects Awards 2016 Citation of Merit, and Naperville Education Foundation’s Celebrating Inspiration Award. The Museum also received an honorable mention in the Education category for Vision Design Awards 2016.

Back in January 2015, DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM) was forced to close temporarily when a water pipe burst and caused extensive damage to all three floors of the Museum. Consistent with its reputation for innovative creativity, DCM turned its three levels of flood damage into an unprecedented opportunity to re-imagine and redevelop many of its most popular custom-designed exhibits.

Industry professionals, including Architecture Is Fun; Graycor Construction Company; Chicago Scenic Studios, Inc.; and others, were instrumental in the redevelopment and reconstruction of a re-imagined Museum,

This week, Architecture Is Fun and Graycor Construction Company won the 2016 Chrysalis Remodeling Award for their collaborative effort in restoring the Museum, designing at high-speed, phasing construction, maintaining safety and structural integrity, and staying true to the original high quality of the early learning institution. Together they designed sustainable branded learning environments and integrated beauty and art with the help of renowned artists Emmy Star Brown, Molly Z, and Luftwerk.

Over 80 entries were judged on overall design, the creative use of space and materials, and the degree to which the project enhanced the original structure. Ken Kanline, Director of the Awards Program, which recognizes the nation’s best remodeling and renovation work, commented, “To win an award in this highly competitive category is quite an achievement.”

On Thursday, May 5, 2016, as part of AIA Chicago’s Small Project/Small Firm awards program that recognizes high-quality work from small architectural firms and exceptional small local projects, DuPage Children’s Museum received an AIA Chicago Small Projects Awards 2016 Citation of Merit for their Pyramid Bench. Collaborating closely, Architecture Is Fun, Inc. designed and fabricator Chicago Scenic Studios, Inc., constructed the super-scaled Pyramid Bench, which creates unique spatial understandings for the many visitors to DuPage Children’s Museum. A juror noted that the bench, which is part public space and part public engagement, was "an active object that encourages exploration and movement.”

The goal of this award program which is presented by the AIA Chicago Small Practitioners Group is to raise public awareness of the value that architects bring to small projects and to promote small practitioners as a resource for design excellence.

This week DCM was also notified that they received an honorable mention in the Education category for Vision Design Awards 2016 in Floor Focus Magazine’s April 2016 edition. The Vision Design Award for Education is awarded for design innovation and excellence on a unique application of flooring materials. Architecture Is Fun's commitment to technology and sustainability is reflected in the artful design of trusted products from Forbo Linoleum. The new public thoroughfare increases visibility, keeps the Museum clean, while the snazzy fuzzy flooring, Flotex by Forbo, delineates zones of interactivity, absorbs sound, and captures allergens and dust.

To end the week,” DuPage Children’s Museum was presented with the Celebrating Inspiration Award at the Naperville Education Foundation Spring Breakfast: Building a Passion for STEM.

“This has been another “winning week” for this amazing early learning institution. During the reconstruction of the Museum in 2015, we were faced with many incredible challenges and it took massive amounts of talent with a very aggressive timeline to re-build the re-imagined Museum. We all know the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” and the lemonade just keeps getting sweeter. DCM is honored to be part of the incredible recognition and we are so proud of all of the industry leaders that contributed to the reconstruction. Special congratulations to Architecture Is Fun; Graycor Construction Company; and Chicago Scenic Studios, Inc. Thank you to the Naperville Education Foundation,” said DCM’s President and CEO Sarah Orleans.

Learn more about DuPage Children’s Museum at dupagechildrens.org and follow DCM on Facebook and Twitter.

For information about the Chrysalis Awards, contact Ken Kanline at 888.263.5687 or online at www.chrysalisawards.com

For information about AIA Chicago, visit www.aiachicago.org, http://spa.aiachicago.info

For information about Floor Focus Magazine, visit www.floordaily.net.

For information about Naperville Education Foundation, visit www.nef203.org

The Museum is located at 301 N. Washington Street in Naperville, www.dupagechildrens.org or call (630) 637-8000.

PHOTO CAPTION: Sarah Orleans, President & CEO, Dupage Children’s Museum; Peter Exley, FAIA Founder, Architecture Is Fun; Sharon Exley MAAE, President, Architecture Is Fun, receiving AIA Chicago Small Projects Awards 2016 Citation of Merit.

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