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American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
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Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art MuseumAmerican Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
A Civil War relic becomes a focal point for historical discussions.
The architecture firm 3north was presented with a deceptively simple design brief: convert the original gun foundry at historic Tredegar Iron Works to a new Center for Discourse on the American Civil War. The firm’s response was to retrofit of the foundry as an exhibit hall and design an addition housing the entry, information center, and souvenir shop.
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An old industrial complex on the James River, the Tredegar Ironworks, which fabricated cannons for the Confederate Army, includes various buildings and remnants of buildings partially destroyed during the Civil War. The National Park Service maintains a visitor center for nearby battlefields in an old pattern building on the site.
The architects located the new entry pavilion off the main axis and to the side of the historic gun foundry, so it wouldn’t obscure the original building’s arched opening and cast iron keystone. They oriented the new entry structure to follow the footprint of a now-demolished building and incorporated a corner of that building, with an original arched opening. This historically significant archway now serves as the portal to the exhibit hall in the gun foundry. To provide adequate exhibit space, the architects inserted a self-supporting mezzanine into the gun foundry without touching the old walls preserving the original space.
The extensive use of glass on the entry pavilion is intended to maximize transparency and frame views of its extraordinary surroundings: the historical industrial complex, a canal walk, and the James River. The pavilion, an exposed steel structure with zinc panels and articulated brickwork, is sky-lit by means of a continuous roof monitor. The building’s materials draw from the palette of the original industrial structures but provide a modern perspective to the poignant content of the American Civil War Center.
Formal name of project: American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
Location: 490 Tredegar Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Gross square footage: 14,820 sq.ft.
Total construction cost: $2,900,000
Completion Date: October 2006
Owner:
American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar
Land Owner:
New Market Corporation (formerly Ethyl Corporation)
Architect:
3north
201 West 7th Street
Richmond, VA 23224
Tel: 804-232-8900
Fax: 804-232-2092
www.3north.com
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