sbp is proud to celebrate the opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas with our partners at Rafael Viñoly Architects (RVA). sbp and RVA have collaborated closely since the competition phase of the project to create a monumental 102,000 sf building that honors the legacy of the Medal of Honor recipients. At the heart of the building is a column-free 200-by-200-foot Exhibition Hall that hovers 40 ft above the ground.
As the museum’s structural engineers, we are excited to see the structural components become part of the architectural story of the building. The desire to support the Exhibition Hall on five exposed megacolumns where all the loads and all the utilities need to travel through five points only, yet still make this structure appear to float effortlessly above the landscape, is a testament to a successful collaboration between all the project’s disciplines. The careful selection of precast concrete elements for the megacolumns, in addition to a lightweight steel frame for the Exhibition Hall with a layout that is engineered for the unusual geometrical arrangement of the columns resulted in an optimized mix of materials, which satisfied not only the engineering team but also opened up plenty of design opportunities for the architects and a variety of installation methods for the contractor.
Access to the Exhibition Hall is provided by two steel spiral staircases that hang from the structure overhead. These custom structures corkscrew 310° in plan, creating a memorable entrance for visitors and structural focal point for the museum’s rotunda.
The museum celebrated its grand opening on March 22nd with visiting dignitaries, live music and performances, speeches from medal recipients, and a fireworks display. It officially opens to the public on March 25th, National Medal of Honor Day.
