National Museum of the United States Army
NICHOLAS BAST - MECHANICAL
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
DR. JAMES FREIHAUT
Building Statistics
Building name: National Museum of the United States Army
Location and site: Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Building Occupant Name: Army Historical Foundation
Occupancy or function types: Museum Space
Size (total square feet): 185,000
Number of stories above grade and total levels: 5 stories
Dates of completion: 2019
Overall Project Cost: 200 Million
Project Delivery Method: Design-Bid-Build
Owner: Army Historical Foundation
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Structural: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Civil: Draper Aden Associates
General Contractor: Clark Construction Group
MEP: Southland Industries
NFPA 101: Life Safety Code
IBC: International Building Code- 2009
ICC - International Plumbing Code- 2009
ICC - International Mechanical Code- 2009
ICC - International Energy Conservation Code- 2009
ICC - International Fuel Gas Code- 2009
U.S. Green Building Council LEED- v. 2.2
ASHRAE 55 Thermal Environment Conditions for Human Occupancy- 2004
ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004 Standard Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality- 2004
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise - 2004
Army Regulation AR 190-11, Physical Security of Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives:5-Sep-13
Army Regulation AR 190-13, The Army Physical Security Program: 25-Feb-11
Army Regulation AR 190-51, Security of Unclassified Army Property: 30-Sep-93
Army Regulation AR 525-13, Anti-Terrorism: 11-Sep-08
Army Regulation AR 870-20, Army Museums, Historical Artifacts, and Art.: 11-Jan-99
DoDI 4170.11, Installation Energy Management: 11-Dec-09
ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures- 2005
Project Team
Codes and Standards
Architecture
National Museum of the United States Army (NMUSA) aims to depict the history of the Army from its earliest days until present times. The museum is meant to honor, preserve and educate the public about the US Army. When designing a building with this significance, you want the patrons experience to begin as soon as the building is seen. The metal panels give a powerful and fortified atmosphere to the building, but the glass exterior open the façade and make the building approachable.
The museum space will extend through the first 3 floors of the building. It will feature informative experiences in the form of stories, films and interactive spaces. Additionally, the museum will display a collection of artifacts from the previous and current wars. The museum will be surrounded by a memorial garden, 200-seat amphitheater, a parade field, and an Army Trial. These features will add to the enlightening aspects the museum aims to display and will create reflective spaces for patrons to utilize.
Building Enclosure
Building Facade
While the façade attempts to add to the story of the museum, it also needs to protect the building from exterior elements. NMUSA features a façade compromised of metal panels and glass. The metal panel system utilizes two different layers of insulation along with other components to provide ample materials to create a building façade with a strong defense against the heat and cold. The glass aspects of the façade contain little to no insulation. The reason for the glass is to allow natural daylight into the building. Light travels into the building via glass panels at the top and bottom of the exterior wall. This allows light in but it will have a smaller effect on the overall heat gain.
Roofing
The roof system implemented at NMUSA make use of a bitumen sheet flashing with approximately 6” of insulation and 7 ½” more inches of concrete. This system will allow minimal heat gain through the roof.
Sustainable Features
National museum of the United States Army has two roof garden areas. These areas act as reflection spaces for patrons, but they also have benefits to building. Roof gardens reduce the amount of water being sent to roof drains because the plants and soil absorb this water. This puts less strain on drainage systems during times of high water flow. Additionally, roof gardens provide more insulation to roof systems letting less heat into the building. Mechanical systems that are utilized to reduce energy usage is the heating and cooling in floor loops. These loops work to cool and heat the space by running water throughout the slab of the first floor exhibit space. The water flows through the pipes and then goes back to the system to be heated or cooled again.
