Monmouth University has announced plans for a 30,000-square-foot museum that will house the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. Designed by CookFox Architects, the building will be located near where Springsteen wrote the iconic “Born to Run”. With plans to open in Spring 2026, the museum will include exhibition galleries, a 230-seat theatre, and archives dedicated to Bruce Springsteen and American music.
This project will feature hybrid construction, making it one of the first buildings in the NYC area to combine steel and timber under a single delegated design package from a local contractor.
Metropolitan Walters, in partnership with Timberlab, is supplying and erecting both the steel and timber components of the project. The steel and timber will be erected simultaneously to simplify the construction process and ensure better alignment between the materials. By managing both components under a single contract, Metropolitan Walters aims to avoid delays and reduce coordination issues that often occur when handling steel and timber separately.
Metropolitan Walters anticipates challenges in coordinating the installation of steel and timber, which includes a steel frame and theatre along with a mass timber structure of glulam beams, columns, and CLT flooring. To address these challenges, Metropolitan Walters will simultaneously erect both the steel and timber components. Tekla BIM modeling will be used to integrate all materials into a single model, minimizing clashes and improving alignment. Managing both materials under one contract will also help prevent the delays typically associated with handling steel and timber separately.