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Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History

Project facts

Category Recreation
Size12,000 SF
SystemGreenGirt Max CMH™
Girt3" | V | 12" OC
Insulation TypeEPS
CladdingStucco
SubstrateMetal studs
ArchitectStudio Gang Architects
ContractorAECOM Tishman
InstallerMilo Plastering
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New York, New York

The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City uses 12,000 square feet of the GreenGirt Max CMH™ continuous insulation system over metal studs, behind stucco cladding, with EPS insulation. The building is the educational portion of the museum’s expansion, a sculptural structure of curving elevations and rounded openings. It opened to the public in 2023 and achieved LEED Gold certification. It was designed by Studio Gang Architects, built by AECOM Tishman, and installed by Milo Plastering.

The GreenGirt Max CMH™ system holds the stucco cladding over a continuous insulation layer, limiting the thermal bridging that conventional metal sub-framing introduces through metal stud walls. In New York’s climate, that uninterrupted layer reduces heating and cooling loads and supports stable interior conditions in a building that receives heavy public traffic.

12,000

SF GreenGirt Max CMH

Up to 99%

GreenGirt Max CMH thermal efficiency

3"

Z-girt depth

12"

Z-girt spacing on center

American Museum of Natural History featuring the GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation system.
The completed Gilder Center, designed by Studio Gang Architects.

Continuous Insulation Behind a Sculptural Building Form

The Gilder Center departs from planar geometry, and its stucco-clad elevations include curved wall surfaces and shaped openings that the cladding and its sub-framing must follow. The GreenGirt Max CMH system accommodates that geometry with vertical composite metal hybrid Z-girts, providing continuous attachment lines along each elevation while the insulation layer remains unbroken across curves and around openings. The composite metal hybrid section supplies the structural capacity of metal without the conductive path of a steel Z-girt, so the sub-framing that supports the cladding does not degrade the thermal performance of the wall. The Gilder Center achieved LEED Gold certification.

American Museum of Natural History featuring the GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation system.
A curved stucco elevation with a shaped opening.

The Wall Assembly

The assembly proceeds outward from the metal stud substrate. Vertical GreenGirt Max CMH Z-girts at 3 inch depth, spaced 12 inches on center, anchor to the studs and establish the insulation cavity. EPS insulation occupies the field between Z-girts as a continuous layer, and the stucco cladding assembly attaches to the Z-girts, which transfer cladding loads to the structure while the composite web interrupts the conductive path from exterior to interior.

American Museum of Natural History featuring the GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation system.
Vertical GreenGirt Max CMH Z-girts installed on an exterior wall.

Frequently Asked Questions

Steel studs conduct heat readily, and insulation placed between them performs well below its rated R-value because the framing bypasses it. Continuous exterior insulation places the thermal resistance outside the framing. The GreenGirt Max CMH system maintains that layer without reintroducing a conductive path through the sub-framing itself.
Stucco is among the heavier cladding materials, so the sub-framing behind it must carry the cladding load through the insulation layer to the structure. GreenGirt Max CMH Z-girts span the continuous insulation and fasten to the structural substrate, providing attachment lines for the stucco assembly so that cladding loads transfer through the Z-girts rather than through the insulation. Z-girt depth, orientation, and spacing vary by project and are determined by the project's engineering for its cladding weight, wind loads, and insulation thickness. Related reading: continuous insulation for stucco facades.
Museums require stable interior conditions for visitor comfort and collection care, and an envelope with limited thermal bridging keeps interior surface temperatures uniform and reduces the heating and cooling loads required to hold those conditions. A continuous insulation layer supports that stability across every conditioned space the wall encloses. Related reading: three steps to thermally efficient continuous insulation.

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