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National World War I Museum

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National World War I Museum

Gold
Environments
Client: National World War I Museum (U.S.), Liberty Memorial Association (U.S.)
Design: Ralph Appelbaum Associates (U.S.)

This museum honors those who served in World War I. The designers created a fan-like museum plan that radiates from the memorial’s core at its subterranean level. The entryway is a clear glass bridge over a field of poppies that represents the 9,000,000 people who died in the War. A glass wall surrounds and encloses the exhibition hall and two arcs, formed with exhibit cases and artillery, divide the experience physically and symbolically into an east side and a west side. Big guns act as brutal icons of war but also beautiful examples of industrial design. The memorial conveys the hard choices and unintended consequences of the war.