Dimeo’s role as Construction Manager for the new Museum Center for the Mark Twain House included construction of a mixed-use space featuring exhibit spaces, a 176-seat Lecture Hall, classrooms, reading room, collections workrooms and storage space. A 75-seat cafe with outdoor terrace and a Museum Store add to the visitor’s amenities. The new building echoes the shapes of the historic structures on the property with an exterior of brick, sandstone and fieldstone, and consists of three floors: one below ground and two above ground. Climate-controlled storage space was created for the museum’s collections of books, manuscripts, photographs, etc. Visitors will also be able to view an orientation film by documentary film maker Ken Burns.
The Mark Twain project accomplished the Silver Certification in the LEED program; it is the first building in Connecticut and the first museum in the country to achieve this status.
