Mulva Cultural Center

Poised above the riverfront in historic De Pere, Wisconsin, this elegant and inviting building is a luminous new venue for cultural engagement in the Midwest.

Project Facts
  • Status Construction Complete
  • Completion Year 2023
  • Design Finish Year 2021
  • Size Site Area: 185,300 square feet Building Height: 68 feet Number of Stories: 2 Building Gross Area: 73,800 square feet
  • Awards
    2025, Distinguished Building, AIA Chicago 2024, Illinois ASHRAE Technology Awards, ASHRAE - Illinois Chapter
  • Collaborators
    Fortune Shepler Saling Lee Herzog Consulting Arup - Chicago M. A. Mortenson Company
Project Facts
  • Status Construction Complete
  • Completion Year 2023
  • Design Finish Year 2021
  • Size Site Area: 185,300 square feet Building Height: 68 feet Number of Stories: 2 Building Gross Area: 73,800 square feet
  • Awards
    2025, Distinguished Building, AIA Chicago 2024, Illinois ASHRAE Technology Awards, ASHRAE - Illinois Chapter
  • Collaborators
    Fortune Shepler Saling Lee Herzog Consulting Arup - Chicago M. A. Mortenson Company

A cultural destination for De Pere

Situated on the scenic banks of the Fox River in De Pere, Wisconsin, the Mulva Cultural Center stands as a premier destination for the creative arts and cultural programming in the Midwest. Founded by philanthropists and De Pere natives James J. and Miriam B. Mulva, the Center is envisioned as a vibrant hub for creativity, education, and entertainment in the Greater Green Bay Area, hosting traveling exhibitions from leading global institutions, diverse programming, and educational opportunities for all ages.

Elevated on a limestone plinth at the bend of the Fox River, the 75,000-square-foot building marks a historic site that was De Pere’s first center of commerce. Today, the Center’s glazed facade glows like a lantern at dusk, revealing a confluence of arts and entertainment within.

Dave Burk © SOM

Visitors are welcomed into a two-story atrium with terrazzo floors, limestone walls, and white oak finishes. The ground floor features a gift shop along with refined food and beverage options, including a gourmet cafeteria and an elevated dining area facing the river. Locals and visitors have access to multiple classrooms for events and educational programming, as well as a 200-seat wood-clad auditorium for film screenings on a cutting-edge LED screen and sound system. Designed to accommodate events of different sizes and formats, the auditorium features a sliding wall that opens to the adjacent restaurant and atrium. Doors throughout the ground floor provide access to large outdoor terraces with views of the river and surrounding landscape. An open staircase lining the atrium leads to the second-floor conference room and a grand hall designed for traveling exhibitions.

Dave Burk © SOM

Integrated systems for efficiency and comfort

The Mulva Cultural Center integrates highly sophisticated structural and mechanical systems to minimize operational energy consumption and enhance visitor comfort. A cantilevered steel canopy with integrated skylights provides passive shading and filters daylight into the interior. Motorized Venetian blinds, discreetly concealed within the ceiling, offer additional shading along the 50-foot-tall glass wall on the west facade. To further reduce energy use, the building envelope is meticulously insulated, incorporating triple-insulated glass. A highly efficient geothermal heat recovery heat pump system delivers heating and cooling through the building via a combination of air handling units and radiant floors.

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