Study Completed 2009
55,000 square feet Renovation (Rossie Mill) | New Construction

In 2008, Oudens Ello Architecture began a collaboration with Mystic Seaport Museum to design an ambitious, all-weather waterfront museum facility. Schematic design for the two-story, 55,000-square-foot building was completed in 2009. While the project was not realized as envisioned, the design process informed Mystic Seaport’s more modest transformation of the north end of the campus with the realization of the Thompson Exhibition Building in 2016.

Conceived as a gateway to Mystic Seaport for visitors arriving from I-95, the proposed facility was intended to serve as the primary visitor services hub and entry point at the north end of the Seaport campus. The program included new temporary and permanent exhibition galleries, a 200-seat theater, and a waterfront dining venue, all organized around the Great Hall—a dramatic, light-filled central space designed to accommodate events and large-scale object displays, with views to the Mystic River to the west and Seaport Village to the south. Exhibition spaces were planned to feature immersive, state-of-the-art exhibits developed in collaboration with UK-based Haley Sharpe Design.

The project also incorporated a climate-controlled bridge connecting the new building to Rossie Mill, a repurposed 19th-century velvet mill housing Mystic Seaport’s research and collection storage facilities. Spanning Greenmanville Avenue (Route 27), the bridge functioned as both a literal and symbolic gateway, providing safe passage for visitors and artifacts across the busy roadway.

Architecturally, the building referenced the scale and character of the historic wharf buildings and vessels that once occupied the site. The wooden soffit of the Great Hall’s inverted roof evoked the form of a ship’s hull “on the ways.” Sustainable design strategies included geothermal wells, passive solar design, natural ventilation, radiant heating and cooling systems, and a large photovoltaic array.