The Museum is located along the western edge of the site, directly adjacent to the 10m pedestrian walkway. The primary floor is elevated 4 meters above grade. The surrounding park slopes upward to create the formal entry to the museum, which is encircled by a landscaped promenade. Additional exhibition, service, covered parking, and loading are provided 2 meters below grade and accessed by a driveway connected to the new access road along the eastern edge of the site.

The linear galleries are arranged from the southern edge to the northern edge of the site. The Welcome Center is centrally located and provides access to the Children’s Museum to the south, and the main museum to the north. The two ends of the building contain multi-purpose theaters for each museum program. In addition to the Welcome Center, the Children’s Museum and each theater have independent public entries for after-hours use.

The galleries are contained within a cylindrical volume supported by a helical steel structure. This versatile support structure also provides a routing network for building systems and provides shading for the galleries. The space between these support fins defines areas for three towers that house Education, Welcome Center, and Office and Research.  The three distinct towers are then reconnected by an elevated green roof terrace that provides outdoor exhibition and gathering space with wide views of the surrounding city and park. The steel structure and deep overhangs play a central role in the environmental performance of the building by providing daylight control and reducing heat gain.