The National World War II Museum is on many Top 10 Museums of the World lists. Rather than a single, large traditional structure, the more than 200,000 square feet of space is presented in a collection of pavilions each exploring key periods of this War to End all Wars. The pavilion approach was born out of several complimentary concepts: a collection of sculptural jewel boxes each bursting with stories, a solution to what would be many years of fundraising, and a way to adapt to post-Katrina Gulf Coast building codes.
Folding planes of concrete with integral lighting emanating from within presents an elegant campus-wide evening lighting treatment. Also in the project brief, were chapel/contemplation space, classrooms, meeting rooms, circulation, and site/facade lighting.
