Medal of Honor Museum Foundation Enters Design Phase; Announces Architect, Exhibit Team for New Museum

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the architectural and exhibit teams now on board, the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation has moved into the conceptual design phase for a new museum and education center at Patriots Point.

Safdie Architects of Boston, MA, and Gallagher & Associates museum planning and design, of Silver Spring, MD, are officially on board and have begun an intensive four-month process that will culminate with renderings of the building and exhibits, a building model and a short film detailing the design concepts. 

"This marks an important milestone in our timeline for the new National Medal of Honor Museum," said Robert C. Wilburn, president and CEO of the Museum Foundation.  "At the end of this phase, we will have a good idea of what the building and exhibits will look like.  We will be able to answer questions in greater detail and will have visuals that express the mission of the new museum to potential donors."

Last spring, the Museum Foundation reached out to leading architect and museum planning and design firms across the country.  Virtually all of them – 23 architectural firms and 16 exhibit design firms -- expressed an interest in the project by responding to a request for qualifications.  The quality of the submissions made the selection process challenging and time-consuming, Wilburn said, noting that the Museum Foundation wanted to identify a team that would work well together.

Led by the celebrated architect Moshe Safdie, Safdie Architects' notable museum projects include the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, AR; Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex, the national museum of the Sikh people in India; the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Canada; and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, among others.  The firm was chosen for its creativity, the unique nature of every building it designs, and its skill in working with waterfront sites, Wilburn said.  The new museum and education center will be on the east side of Charleston Harbor.

Gallagher & Associates' work includes the National World War II Museum in New Orleans; the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California; the Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania; and the Normandy American Cemetery Visitor Center in France.  "Our goal is an informative, inspiring – even transformative – visitor experience," Wilburn said.

The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation is a non-profit educational organization established to preserve and present the stories of the nation's Medal of Honor recipients; to help visitors understand what it means to put service above self; and to inspire current and future generations about the Medal's ideals of patriotism, leadership and courage. This will be the only museum in the country that brings together the story of the nation's highest military honor, all of its recipi­ents, and the wars in which they fought. 

About Moshe Safdie and Safdie Architects

Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author who embraces a comprehensive and humane design philosophy. In keeping with a philosophical approach that Safdie has applied around the world for more than four decades, the design of each of his projects is responsive to local historic, cultural, and environmental contexts and grows out of a vision of the way it can affect the lives of the individuals for whom the buildings and public spaces are created. The firm has designed and realized a wide range of projects around the world, including cultural, civic, and educational institutions; mixed-use urban centers and airports; and master plans for existing neighborhoods and entirely new cities, many of which have become landmarks in their communities.

Notable projects include Habitat '67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and ArtScience Museum in Singapore; the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. Safdie Architects is based in Boston with offices in Toronto, Jerusalem, Singapore and Shanghai.

About Gallagher & Associates

As president and founder of Gallagher & Associates, Patrick Gallagher has led the design of some of the world's most memorable museum experiences, from his long-standing relationship with the Smithsonian Institution, to high-profile projects in Asia and Europe. Under his guidance, the firm has gained international acclaim for its leadership in the field of museum planning and experience design.  The firm's collective portfolio is extremely diverse and often flows from the creation of an interpretive and economic master plan, to full service renovation and finally, to complete ground up building projects. We guide our clients not only in the initial visioning of a particular project; we also assist in operations planning, strategic planning, and lifecycle planning. The firm has extensive expertise in creating experiences that promote regional tourism, link tourism and instigate urban redevelopment. Our interdisciplinary teams combine thorough research, thoughtful master planning and design, media programming, and dynamic environmental graphics.

Gallagher & Associates has collaborated globally with clients on projects such as Gallery One at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the White House Visitor Center, the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery at the National Postal Museum, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the LBJ Presidential Library.

CONTACT: Robert C. Wilburn
(877) 717-5242

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SOURCE National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation