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architect: Jahn
Place: Kenosha, Wisconsin
Completion Date: 2023
In 2003, Colonel Jennifer Pritzker founded the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago, Illinois. According to its website, the museum’s mission is “to increase the public’s understanding of military history, military affairs, and national security by providing a forum for the study and exploration of our military.”
The museum retained the services of Jahn, the architectural practice of the late Helmut Jahn, to design an archival facility to preserve the museum’s library collections. The Pritzker Military Archives is located on 288 acres of vacant land outside Kenosha, Wisconsin. It consists of a large structural hangar supported by two 400-foot-long steel trusses and systematically detailed in the company’s signature high-tech style. Its form is inspired by the amphibious landing vehicles used during World War II.
This isn’t Jahn’s first foray into underground archival storage. In 2011, the firm completed the design of the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago. The company provided an underground reading room and vast storage vault (with capacity for more than 3.5 million books), topped by a vaulted glass dome.
For the Pritzker project, the client originally envisioned an above-ground storage facility, however, temperature and humidity considerations prompted a change in plans and the planned archives were relocated beneath the hangar, freeing up the site.
In the plan, the hangar was divided into several projects. At the entrance is a small public exhibition space. The core of the hangar is the offices and meeting spaces. Behind the core is a photo and book restoration studio used to preserve the museum collection.
The hangar’s glass is treated with grid-like black frit, which protects archival materials from UV radiation. Sintered glass also improves occupant comfort and energy performance.
Large six-by-twelve-foot glass panels are suspended between steel beams and columns. The glass is attached to the pillars via a simple clip system.
All ductwork and electrical systems were carefully concealed within the hangar, leaving its structure as exposed as possible. Philip Castillo, Managing Director of Jahn one, “The building is essentially a shed, but it’s a very well-disciplined shed.”
Red was chosen as the main color of the hangar building to represent the courage of the United States Armed Forces.
The hangar roof has a gentle slope. The ceiling height at the entrance is 40 feet, while the ceiling height at the rear of the building where the loading dock is located drops to about 25 feet. The roof is made of steel and covered with metal decking to reflect sunlight. It is also designed with a rainwater drainage system. Drainage pipes filter water from the roof into cisterns embedded in the surrounding landscape.
A flag representing each branch of the armed forces stands at the entrance to the hangar. The sidewalk in front of the building is a ceremonial plaza for military holidays, such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Flag Day.
The landscaping of the site was done in collaboration with Tom Oslund of O2 Design and references the World War II topography. The building sits on an elevated semicircle, a topography that references the city walls used to protect war battlefields. A circular path skirted the edge of the wall, lined with rows of red double dogwoods. According to Castillo, dogwood branches turn red in the winter.
The Pritzker Military Museum and Library plans for the future of the 288-acre site where the archives are located. A shooting range is already planned for the site. In 2021, Oyler Wu Collaborative won a design competition to design a Cold War Veterans Memorial on the site.
Project specifications
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