Conceived by renowned military historian Stephen Ambrose and Dr. Nick Mueller, then Vice Chancellor at the University of New Orleans, the original D-Day Museum opened in 2000 with exhibits and oral histories telling the stories of American troops who stormed Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. The Museum’s early success led to it being designated by Congress as the official WWII museum of the United States in 2004, sparking ambitious expansion goals and a national design competition.
Facing typical constraints of budget and scale, the architects (Voorsanger Mathes LLC) proposed a multi-phased development plan allowing for flexible, staged growth. Over twenty years, the approach made funding more feasible while increasing public interest and engagement, successfully facilitating multiple grand openings, generating sustained excitement and continuous national press, and creating unique fundraising opportunities through the naming of events and pavilions within the Museum's newly expanded campus. Although the phased approach would eventually cost more due to rising construction costs, it provided essential flexibility and adaptability allowing the expansion to survive Hurricane Katrina and a global pandemic.
The National World War II Museum is a masterclass in how careful, patient architectural planning, interpretive engagement, community involvement, clear understanding of future audiences, and phased strategic fundraising can converge to transform a revered local museum into a cultural institution of national significance.
Learning Objectives
- Explore the importance of master planning to the success of a long-term multi-phase project and how a museum can be constructed over time based on the initial master plan.
- Understand how measured planning that defines revenue opportunities can lead to long-term financial stability.
- Understand how to design for inevitable changes over the long haul e.g. technology becoming obsolete, new infrastructure becoming existing, funding impacting sequencing of master plan construction.
- Learn how setting interpretive goals for the visitor experience and following this mission with respect to future audiences will expand the reach of the institution.
- Examine the importance of master-planning central building systems to provide for later phases.
- Understand the benefits of keeping the team together over 20 years.
- Examine the methods and strategies employed to achieve national museum designation for a small regional institution.
