Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

The Eric Carle Museum is a 43,000 square-foot facility, located on 7.5 acres in Amherst, Massachusetts. The museum was constructed in 2001 and opened in November 2002 as the first full-scale museum in the United States devoted to picture books. The building’s public spaces consist of three exhibition galleries, an art studio, a library of 4,500 books, and an auditorium accommodating performances, films, and lectures.

Kohler Ronan worked with Museum Insights to create a long-term facility master plan in 2015. The master plan serves as a roadmap of the building’s current shortcomings as well as its future expansion and energy goals. The plan included a detailed equipment maintenance and replacement outline for short-term needs and capital future improvements for long-term transformative upgrades. Energy benchmarking and improvement goals were also incorporated within the plan. We worked with the building’s leadership team to create a thoughtful and achievable long-term plan, taking into account the museum’s resources and future needs.