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The museum as glimpsed
from the access road.
All photos by Dave Burk © SOM

Main lobby, with a black granite wall listing every campaign in the Army’s history.

leaving no doubt that strength, rigor, and discipline are the underfoot. Precision execution is on display everywhere
values celebrated in this museum and powerfully conveyed in this building.
in the design of its building. The lobby showcases a large On the third floor is Veterans’ Hall, a large event space
granite wall that lists every campaign in Army history and that is flooded with natural light and features more oak and
overhead, a coffered ceiling is festooned with streamers from ash wood. The Medal of Honor Garden, a contemplative space
those campaigns rendered in translucent glass panels. A gift for ceremonial events, is located on the roof is accessed from
shop, café, ground-level exhibit spaces, as well as a theater Veterans’ Hall.
and landscaped terrace can all be accessed from the lobby. A “The proportions of the buildings and their massing
monumental stair leads to the second level. are elegant,” said one awards juror. “The combination of
Circulation between pavilions and exhibit areas is through light, materials, and color—all the themes were thoughtful
thresholds detailed with American white oak and ash. The and beautifully crafted, elevating what a museum can be,”
drama of the wood thresholds is heightened with embedded commented another.
LED lighting that aligns exactly with the wood flooring

BASTIONS OF CULTURE 13