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Bastions of Culture
Bastions of Culture

A Museum and a Library Renovation

Exemplify Precision

by Denise Liebowitz

North façade of the National Museum of the United States Army,
with main entrance at center.

Grand Award/Chapter Design Award in Architecture “As we began the design process, the land was the primary
National Museum of the identifier for our client,” recalled Colin Koop, AIA, design
partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and design director
United States Army on the project. Distinct from other military services such as
Fort Belvoir, VA the Air Force or the Navy, the Army is specifically focused on
land combat. “They had an almost tactical relationship to the
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill land [for this project]. For example, they would talk about the
Landscape Architect: AECOM importance of ‘taking the high ground.’” Locating the museum
Lighting Designer: Brandston Partnership Inc. on the crest of a hill quickly became obvious to the architect.
Exhibition Design and Installation: Eisterhold Associates; The museum comprises five pavilions of varying heights
Christopher Chadbourne & Associates; The Scenic Route, Inc. and sizes and connected by glassy walkways to form a
Exhibition Installation: Design and Production Incorporated cohesive whole. The tallest of the pavilions rises to 100 feet. The
Structural Engineer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill monolithic volumes, tautly wrapped in their steel-and-glass
MEP/FP Engineers: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; skin, reflect the surrounding woodland, dramatically changing
Southland Industries; M.C. Dean the character of the building depending on the season and
Civil Engineer: Draper Aden Associates time of day.
Telecom, Security, and AV Consultant: Shen Milsom & Wilke The façade of laser-cut stainless steel panels punctuated by
Wayfinding Consultant: Crystal McKenzie, Inc. expanses of recessed glass is laid out in a regimented three-foot
Food Service Consultant: Hopkins Foodservice grid. These repeating building modules, engineered down to the
Vertical Transportation Consultant: Van Deusen millimeter, are found both on the exterior and inside, enhancing
& Associates cohesion among the five pavilions. The glazed grids of the exterior
Protective Design and Security: Thornton Tomasetti are defined by dark aluminum projecting “fins” that provide
Road and Infrastructure Improvements: Shirley depth and articulation to the otherwise monolithic façade.
Contracting Company, LLC Speaking again of his clients, Koop said, “They had a
General Contractor: Clark Construction Group strong desire for the Army to be seen as forward-leaning and
technologically advanced.” The meticulously engineered
The approach to the National Museum of the United States building provides them with the public identity they sought.
Army, located on 84 acres of rolling meadow and woodland at Passing through a paved courtyard, the visitor enters a
Ft. Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia, is designed to impress. light-filled lobby that can do double duty as an event space.
Set on a rise and first glimpsed through the trees, the precisely Emblazoned on the terrazzo floor of the entry are the Seal of the
honed stainless steel and glass building appears monumental, United States Army and its motto, “THIS WE’LL DEFEND,”
asserting its dominance over the landscape like a citadel.
12 BASTIONS OF CULTURE