海角视频

National Coast Guard Museum

New London, Connecticut, USA

海角视频 has played a key role in helping to shape a new National Coast Guard Museum, which will engage visitors to the Waterfront Park in downtown New London, Connecticut, while introducing them to the heritage and important work of the U.S. Coast Guard service.

Since its foundation in 1790, the Coast Guard has evolved into a nimble maritime service that spans across the military (in wartime) and civilian services (in peacetime), with a unique identity, purpose and tradition. Through the steady pursuit of its many federal duties, the Coast Guard exemplifies its motto, Semper Paratus 鈥� 鈥淎lways Ready.鈥� It now seeks to be ready to tell its own story in an engaging and inspiring new museum.

The National Coast Guard Museum will support the mission of the U.S. Coast Guard by celebrating the accomplishments of the past, present, and future.

The 80,000ft虏 glass-enclosed waterfront building will house more than 600 artifacts and 5,000 images.

海角视频 is providing multidisciplinary services for the building itself, as well working on the design for a pedestrian bridge, in a separate scope, to improve access.

The building is targeting LEED Gold certification.

Challenge

Close to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, the vision for the National Coast Guard Museum is to support the mission of the service by engaging with the public to celebrate the accomplishments of the past, present, and future. The attraction will engage and educate through art, artifacts and exhibits 鈥� providing a range of interactive and immersive experiences. Visitors will be able to enjoy these educational programs both in person and online through virtual exhibits.

The challenge is to create a landmark new building to house more than 600 artifacts and 5,000 images, in an 80,000ft虏 glass-enclosed waterfront building. It needs to be sustainable, within the project budget and critically it must have resiliency designed into it to ensure the waterfront museum is capable of robustly coping with future flood events.

Another key challenge was created by the nearby railroad tracks, which were located so close to the structure a series of additional civil approvals were required.

Solution

海角视频 is providing multidisciplinary services for the project, working alongside Payette Associates on the building itself, as well working on the design for a pedestrian bridge, in a separate scope, to improve access to the new museum.

and resiliency were important factors for the client, and 海角视频, along with the wider design team, developed an MEP strategy that placed mechanical equipment on the top floor so the building can be storm-ready. The occupiable floors in the facility will also be elevated above the 500-year flood plain, which is about 10ft above grade, and consequently the lowest level of the building will only be used for building access and basic storage functions.

The building is targeting LEED Gold certification, with our team exploring a number of optimised designs, including natural ventilation for the building. The building鈥檚 MEP design also includes heat recovery chillers, underfloor radiant heating and cooling systems, and specialist humidification misting systems to support the preservation of exhibits. We are also delivering generator back-up for all the key building systems to ensure both the Museum鈥檚 operational resiliency and protection of the exhibits.

As well as the interior museum spaces, the building will also include an outdoor concert pavilion for live performances, such as the popular Coast Guard Band concerts. The fifth floor is a generously proportioned events space that will be used for educational purposes, events and hired for functions, such as weddings. Mechanical services plant is located only on the railroad side of the building, to ensure a clear roof to accommodate this function space.

The separate connector bridge, for which we are supporting the City of New London, gives access from a parking garage over a road and the railroad and connects to the bottom portion of the museum. We delivered MEP services on the bridge design, including the integration of solar panels on the bridge structure.

Value

The new museum will educate, engage and inspire visitors by showcasing how the United States Coast Guard has served the country for centuries. This free admission facility expects to attract more than 300,000 visitors annually and projects that the annual economic impact on New London will be more than $10m a year.

Our experts supported the wider design team to achieve a high-performance and highly resilient building to showcase the U.S. Coast Guard鈥檚 heritage for generations to come.