U.S. Army Museum Opens to the Public on Veterans’ Day

The stories of the 30 million men and women who have worn the U.S. Army uniform since 1775 will now be told within a new national museum that was introduced to the public during a grand opening ceremony on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11.

The National Museum of the United States Army is a national landmark located on over 84 acres in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is expected to welcome 500,000 visitors per year. 

WSP USA was part of the team working for the Army Historical Foundation, that turned a long-developing dream into an architecturally stunning reality. The firm provided commissioning services that supported the goal of achieving Gold certification U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

The stainless-steel façade of the $200 million building represents the strength of the Army, while the glass at the top of the sixth-floor tower acts as a beacon of safety and security. Inside, the 185,000-square-foot museum will house 45,000 pieces of Army art and artifacts. The building includes a main building with a large lobby, exhibition galleries, a learning center, rooftop garden, café, and administrative functions. 

The museum experience extends outside as well, as the site features a memorial garden, a 200-seat amphitheater, a parade field with grandstand and an Army Trail with interpretive station.

For David Nichols, WSP vice president and project manager, this was a project of personal significance over the past 15 years.

“I am quite invested in this project both personally and professionally,” Nichols said. “As a veteran, I have a deep desire to show our country and the world how the courage, diversity, ingenuity and commitment that our service members embody the very best of America.”

WSP was contracted to provide commissioning and design review services not only to meet the LEED requirements, but to provide oversight on a design-build project in a critical museum environment.

“The building is extremely energy efficient,” Nichols said.

One unique feature involves the building automation system, which is constantly learning and tuning itself to provide the required conditions while reducing energy consumption as much as possible.

Another noteworthy feature is the radiant slab system in the 300-degree theater space.

“This is an extremely large space and the nature of the presentation will not allow for fan noise from typical HVAC systems,” Nichols said. “A piping system is installed in the floor slab to provide the conditioning of the space without the use of noise producing fans.  The only forced air in the space is limited to the neutral ventilation air.”

The biggest challenge WSP overcame in the commissioning of the museum was to verify and provide back-up data to prove that different areas of the building were conditioned and ready to receive the priceless artifacts.

“This was particularly challenging on the project because, in order to maintain the schedule, some areas were completed while others were still in protection,” Nichols said. “So as each section was completed it had to be protected while we started on the next.”

The building was actually constructed around some of the largest artifacts. For instance, the M1 Abrams Tank was placed on the slab and then a temporary structure was built around it that had to be conditioned as well as air- and water-tight for two years while the building was constructed and finished around it.

The items that will be on display arrive from a variety of sources. Some have been in possession of the Army Historical Foundation, while others are from private collections that have been donated to the museum.

Even before Nichols joined WSP, he was involved in the development of the bridging documents in 2008 while at SOM. So when the client was looking to bring someone on board to commission the building, they chose to continue working with someone familiar with the intent of the project.

Nichols, who has worked on the project over the past 15 years with three different firms, said the biggest challenge they faced was a concern that financing would evaporate and disrupt progress on the project.

“Every time the project was put on hold because of fundraising challenges I feared it would never get built,” he admitted. “But each time when we had almost given up, the project would take off again and the Historic Foundation give me the opportunity to help again.”

Nichols said this project solidified WSP’s partnership with Clark Construction. “We have worked with them on a lot of great projects, but two that really stand out are the National Museum of the Army and National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.,” he said. “The relationships we built on these projects have led to a great deal of new work.”

Unfortunately, because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, attendance at the Veteran’s Day grand opening is limited and Nichols won’t be able to attend. But he said that attending the event is a distant consideration for him, as he is thrilled that his long labor of love has overcome all of its hurdles and is finally opening to the public.

While the project is complete, Nichols said there is a chance that WSP will be called upon over the next 24 months to recommission the building to ensure that the systems are still functioning as designed and as they were operating when the building achieved its LEED Gold certification.

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