Honor Award Winner
Project Name: Pritzker Military Museum, Library and Archives Center
Location: Somers, Wisconsin
Design Team: O2 Design
The Pritzker Military Museum, Library, and Archives Center marks the initial 40-acre phase of a decade-long development project across 283 acres of farmland in Somers, Wisconsin. It addresses the need for a new archive center to accommodate the growing collection of military artifacts by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, with a focus on promoting public understanding of military history through artistic, expressive, and functional design.
The design prioritizes ecological restoration, sustainability, and community benefits. It restores pre-settlement ecological habitat, enhances sustainability with measures like stormwater collection and reuse, and offers public amenities such as a comprehensive trail system and flexible event spaces. Additionally, it aims to reflect the military code of conduct through a simple yet orderly geometric site layout, and the utilization of symbolism in material selection, creating a memorable experience for visitors. Inspired by the trench warfare earthworks, the site features a circular rampart with the museum at its center, offering various perspectives for visitors to experience architecture, nature, and the broader land context. Linear pathways and tree-lined boulevards overlay the circular pattern, forming a simple and strong geometric grid to pay homage to military order and discipline. This grid defines wetland gardens and restored prairie meadows, connecting visitors to the site's wilder surroundings.
During site selection, the landscape architect collaborated closely with the clients and architects, conducting thorough analysis and design explorations across potential locations to ensure alignment with the museum's vision. They developed a comprehensive master plan for the chosen site, optimizing its features for a nationally significant museum campus. In phase 1 execution, including the museum, archival space, parking, event areas, and trails, landscape architects led sustainability efforts and artistic landform creation.
Situated near the mapped Kilbourn Road Drainage floodway and wetlands, which serve as a tributary of the Des Plaines River, the project prioritizes the preservation of existing hydrology and hydraulics from development impact. Furthermore, landscape architects took proactive measures to address the environmental challenges posed by the Midwest farming industry, such as extensive fertilization, leached soil nutrients, and high water usage. They implemented a large-scale native habitat restoration plan, creating naturalistic stormwater ponds with wetlands, wet meadows, and dry-mesic prairies, covering 32% of the redevelopment site with native prairie seeding. This environmentally conscious approach not only pays homage to the pre-settlement tall grass prairie/savanna natural habitat but also positively influences the region’s ecosystem. The project integrates innovative rainwater harvesting and stormwater management systems, enhancing quality and storage capacity while meeting irrigation needs. Twelve rainwater collection vaults capture runoff from the building roof, complemented by two permeable pavers parking lots to infiltrate ground runoff. The captured runoff is then directed through native-planted wet meadow basins to permanent retention ponds. Here, the natural wetland filters and stores the runoff for irrigation purposes within the wetland bounce buffer. These basins have a combined storage capacity of 3.19 acre-feet, exceeding the site's average monthly irrigation requirements of 67,743 gallons. This native-focused landscape design results in an 86% reduction in irrigation needs compared to the previous requirement for soybean fields, underscoring the significant conservation and sustainability benefits of this transformation.
The project’s resounding success in realizing the institution’s vision of a world-class museum campus led to the decision to relocate the entire institution to the campus upon project completion. Beyond its environmental impact, the Pritzker Military Museum, Library, and Archives Center extends a socioeconomic benefit to the community. It offers miles of walking trails for public enjoyment, extends public utility infrastructure, supports wildlife and natural habitat, facilitates public education and outreach initiatives, and plays a crucial role in the preservation of our military history and artifacts.