On the Register of Historic Places and a National Historic Landmark, the National World War I Memorial has been ever-evolving since its erection in 1926. Most recently, the museum opened its newly renovated lower level featuring the new Bergman Family Gallery and Open Storage Center. The gallery adds approximately 4,000 square feet of storage, including a 190-foot “coastline” of window cases displaying artifacts that were previously stored in closed back-of-house storage facilities. This innovative space provides guests with the unique experience of observing curators and archivists prepare artifacts for display in one of the world's largest WWI collections.
JE Dunn engaged our pre-build team to create the “coastline” shelving in the open storage space. Originally designed by Multistudio to include both wood and steel, the project team was unable to find a shelving solution that appropriately showcased the museum’s storage without using multiple subcontractors and trades. JE Dunn’s pre-build team worked with the owners and designers to design and craft one-of-a-kind shelving units for the open storage space. The team utilized mockups and first-work-in-place reviews to confirm quality standards with the entire project team. Shelving is used to temporarily display the museum’s vast collection of WWI artifacts as the museum archivists prepare the pieces to be shown within other exhibits. Previously in storage, the artifacts are now open for public viewing, letting museum guests see more of the history within the museum’s walls.
