Holocaust Museum Boston

Anchoring the northeast corner of the Boston Common, Holocaust Museum Boston seeks to reflect the mission of remembrance, education, and moral courage. Located across from Boston’s historic Freedom Trail, the building is designed to be an active space for teaching and engagement, with immersive exhibits, classrooms, and a changing exhibit gallery.

The exterior is wrapped in white glass and a softly woven metal screen that moves gently across the building’s mid-level exhibit floors. The façade has a subtle rippling quality, meant to suggest how actions and choices extend beyond us, shaping the world in ways we may not immediately see. Above the entrance, the screen intentionally pulls back to reveal a large bay window housing an authentic Nazi-era railcar. This moment is a deliberate exposure of truth, an unfiltered confrontation with history as it was. This museum is designed to make clear that the Holocaust is not confined to the past; its purpose is to illuminate, to educate, and to compel visitors to consider their own responsibility in the world today.

Constructed with sustainable materials and the use of all-electric systems, the building is net-zero ready. The Acoustic Dowel Laminated Timber (ADLT) is used as an exposed floor assembly, providing a both finished and acoustically absorptive material that eliminates the need for dropped ceilings. Additionally, linear portions of the acoustic profile are removed to integrate seamless linear light fixtures directly into the exposed ceilings. The wood varies in tone throughout the museum, with natural stains in the lobby and education spaces, and a black stain in the exhibits, serving to remind visitors that the future is brighter than the past.