Museums + Galleries

The National WWII Museum

Architect
Voorsanger Mathes LLC
Location
New Orleans, Louisiana
Size
225,000 SF
Completed
Ongoing since 2004
Download Project Sheet
National Wwii Museum 01
© Susan Fisher Plotner/Altieri
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© Chuck Wick/Altieri
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© Rob Louth/Altieri

America’s official national WWII museum is a large-scale, multi-building campus in the center of New Orleans.

The National WWII Museum is a military history museum dedicated to the American experience in World War II. Opened on June 6, 2000, the 56th anniversary of D-Day, the museum was designated America’s official national WWII museum by the U.S. Congress and is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. The Museum features exhibits, multimedia experiences, and an expansive collection of artifacts and first-person oral histories.

When completed, the museum will consist of ten buildings. Altieri has been and continues to be involved in every phase of the project since 2004 including: Solomon Victory Theater (4D cinematic experience), US Freedom Pavilion-The Boeing Center, Campaigns of Courage Pavilion, Hall of Democracy, and Liberation Pavilion. To facilitate campus expansion, a free-standing central plant building was constructed, designed to an eventual cooling capacity of 900 tons. Special attention was paid to building pressurization to minimize infiltration of untreated outside air. Emergency power is provided by a roof-mounted diesel generator. IT systems and infrastructure were also designed to serve the campus and will easily facilitate the multi-phased expansion. The Hall of Democracy includes two 900-square foot production studios with production control rooms and post-editing spaces. Production capabilities include transmission of TV and audio from large lecture spaces to production control rooms for playback. The Bollinger Canopy of Peace was dedicated on December 9, 2021. The structure rises 148 feet above the center of the campus and spans 133 feet across the Museum’s pavilions. After sundown, a state-of-the-art lighting system supported by Altieri-design audio-visual infrastructure, transforms the canopy.

Images © Susan Fisher Plotner/Altieri and Rob Louth/Altieri

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National Wwii Museum 03

Images © Susan Fisher Plotner/Altieri and Rob Louth/Altieri

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