Photo courtesy of Infinite Impact
The new National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) is the latest gem of Columbus. The building’s slick curves, soft color palette and symbolism create an educational community space not just for central Ohioans, but for veterans and their loved ones across the nation.
Going National
Photo by Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
Originally, the structure was dedicated to the veterans from and living in Ohio. But when the leaders of the project, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, realized there was no national memorial or museum for veterans of every conflict and branch, they decided to go big.
“This is a place where (veterans) can call home,” says Amy Taylor, chief operating officer at CDDC. “Before, sites were segregated by branch, or segregated by conflict or battle. I think veterans who served, regardless, we have an obligation to thank them for their service.”
CDDC oversaw the six-year project with the collaborative efforts from the Veterans Advisory Committee – which the late Senator John H. Glenn previously ran – and several professional and creative groups.
“This is not a war memorial, not a military museum. … What we’re doing is telling the story of veterans,” Taylor says. “I envision this being a pilgrimage for the 20 million living veterans and their family members; where they come and share that experience with their families and process their own experience.”
The Structure
Photo by Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
Approaching the crisscrossed, curved structure of the NVMM is breathtaking. One of the major focal points is the large outdoor staircase that starts next to the site’s main entrance and wraps up to the green space amphitheater.
Brad Cloepfil, founding principal of the architecture firm Allied Group and lead architect of the NVMM, explains the significance of the rooftop theater.
“The weaving of the structure is really intended to lift the amphitheater up and create a safe domain,” Cloepfil says. “We wanted to make a place in the sky; a sun-filled space.”
The rooftop space will potentially hold events for patriotic holidays and be a venue for military weddings.
“It’s an enclosure that allows for different veteran activities, but it’s also a place for all people to come together,” Cloepfil says.
On the inside, the crisscrossed pattern continues and serves as structural integrity. There are no load-bearing columns in the NVMM, so the architects used 28,000 pounds of concrete and 1,100 tons of rebar to lift up the building. Taylor says the wrapping concrete design and infinity shape is symbolic, though.
“The structure doesn’t begin or end,” Taylor says. “And I think that’s important because, when veterans joined the military, their service didn’t end when they left the military. They bring these lessons learned and they bring it back to their communities.”
The Grove
Photo courtesy of Infinite Impact
The site also features the Memorial Grove, which was designed by the international landscape architecture firm OLIN. Visitors can enjoy a peaceful waterfall that spans across a 325-foot wall, relax on park benches and dabble in the shade of American elm trees, which is a significant aspect.
“It’s American elms, which OLIN would say have shaded our patriots since the dawn of our country,” Taylor says. “Elm trees went out with Dutch elm disease in the 1950s and they’re back – they’ve figured out a cultivar – and we have 8-inch calipers (thickness of the trucks) so this grove is sustainable.”
Taylor says the trees will eventually form a canopy and that sunlight will still shine through to the tuft grasses.
The Exhibit
Photo by Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
Entering the NVMM, visitors are welcomed with a wall-mounted phrase by Glenn: “honor, connect, inspire, educate.” Those four words clearly describe what the NVMM’s purpose is within the U.S.
Turning to the right, guests can experience the permanent exhibit – an interactive, narrative journey of two dozen veterans. Architecturally, the exhibit features mostly rectangular shapes, but toward the end, guests can learn about an array of military data that is projected on a tabular star structure.
“We have all this great architecture, but we needed something that wasn’t a circle or a rectangle,” says Taylor.
The weaving of the structure is really intended to lift the amphitheater up and create a safe domain. ... We wanted to make a place in the sky; a sun-filled space.
Other interesting features include a film projected onto a seemingly floating massive cube, a spacious hallway where photographs hang from the ceiling of the exhibit’s featured veterans and a modern staircase that leads to windows level with the amphitheater.
The upstairs windows are not clear panes, though. The glass features continuous strips of colorful rectangles that represent campaign ribbons from the American Revolutionary War. Along the windows is another innovative and symbolic piece of architecture: a mirrored American flag.
“The flag is an infinity,” says Taylor. “It represents more than 2 million people who have given their lives in service and it also represents the fact that the families – their sacrifice never ends.”
The Architectural Importance
Photo by Amanda DePerro
Apart from the symbolic meanings of the NVMM, Cloepfil says the overall beauty of the structure is necessary.
“It’s a national memorial and museum, so to make it a place that is striking and beautiful and inviting is important,” Cloepfil says. “Architecturally, we wanted to make a place where people want to be, and where they can think about those ideas of service and sacrifice. … In addition to the veterans, it’s a site that will become identifiable with Columbus.”
Lydia Freudenberg is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at lfreudenberg@cityscenemediagroup.com.
