马纳萨斯博物馆丨美国丨GWWO Architects

2024/08/31 20:13:39

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Architect：GWWO Architects

Location：Manassas, VA, USA; | ;View Map

Project Year：2024

Category：Museums

Initially planned as a temporary exhibit to celebrate the city’s centennial, the Manassas Museum first opened in 1974, and relocated to its current facility – located within Baldwin Park, the city’s main green space – in 1991. Originally designed by Carlton Abbott, the building has a “fort-like form” that pays homage to the city’s agricultural and military past. GWWO’s renovation and expansion honor this history while furthering the museum’s journey of growth and its role as a critical community institution.

GWWO’s design solution transforms the relationship between the museum and the community by removing an existing, isolating courtyard wall that previously separated the building from the park, and by reorienting the building’s main entrance towards the city center. The new main entrance is sited on an axis with Battle Street, the city’s main thoroughfare, and accessible ramps integrated into both the building and the outdoor amphitheater provide a seamless transition from the entrance to the park. The museum’s indoor and outdoor spaces now activate each other, and create an open, inviting entry sequence that welcomes visitors arriving from downtown.

The 4,628-square-foot addition – which includes a new special-exhibit hall, offices, and support space – elevates the museum’s presence, responding to its role as a significant piece of civic architecture while maintaining the scale of the historic core and preserving the view of the building’s iconic copper cupola from the Historic Downtown. Visible from the nearby train station, the expansion attracts new visitors to learn about the story of Manassas, and provides opportunities to educate, unite, and grow the community.

Contextual yet distinctive, with a material palette that honors the existing cupola and historic district, the new addition flanks the existing wings of the building and graciously welcomes visitors arriving from downtown. A new, light-filled corridor and exhibit hall offer glimpses of the activity happening inside the building and within the courtyard. The re-envisioned courtyard and new amphitheater link the park and museum together, and provide flexible outdoor space that the museum, partner organizations, and the community can use to host expanded programming or rent out for festivals, weddings, and other special events. Corridors with exhibits and transparent glazing along the courtyard create a continual dialogue between the museum and its outdoor spaces.

An additional 6,360 square feet of renovations to the existing building include a reimagined exhibit space, a new History of Manassas Timeline exhibit, and a Family History Center genealogy classroom. All of the museum’s exhibit halls were renovated, and new exhibits were installed to tell a more inclusive history of the city. These include a new Native Legacy exhibition created in partnership with the Patawomeck Tribe of Stafford County, and a robust collection of artifacts that represent the history of the Manassas Black community. An interactive exhibit called “What Manassas Means to You?” has received responses in 13 languages.

The addition and renovation incorporate many sustainable best practices, including bird-friendly glazing, low-albedo roofing, LED lighting, daylighting in all occupied spaces, and upgrades to high-efficiency mechanical equipment with energy recovery.