| |  | National Constitution Center |
| |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Completed 2003 |
Museum and study
center devoted to the United States Constitution
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| Click on image to enlarge The National Constitution Center is the first structure devoted to the blueprint of American democracy. Its goal is not to enshrine the historical document, but to explain and celebrate its ongoing relevance, providing a link between the past and the present, between the American people and the principles that guide and protect them.The museum stands at the northern end of Independence Mall, opposite Independence Hall, where the Constitution was
debated and signed in 1787. A monumental open porch invites entry and engages visitors with views into the museum and out to the modern city. Transparency is key to the design. It emphasizes the responsiveness and openness essential for freedom and self-government, while the building's diagonal geometry speaks dynamically of the Constitution's capacity to shape, and be shaped by, the society it governs. A visit to the museum begins in the introductory theater in-the-round,
conceived to serve also as a national town hall for televised presidential debates and other significant events. Visitors are then engaged by a series of interactive exhibitions designed to present the complexities of the Constitution to people of different ages and backgrounds in a way that is individually meaningful. Visitors ultimately emerge into a skylit ceremonial hall with the American flag suspended at its center and the flags of the fifty states arrayed nearby. Here, looking back
across the Mall, the National Constitution Center visually connects with Independence Hall, continuing and celebrating the story begun more than two centuries ago. |
| 36,000 s/f lobby & public facilities; 24,000 s/f permanent exhibition space, 5,700 s/f temporary exhibits; 364-seat theater, 195-seat auditorium; 3,300 s/f Educational Outreach Center; 330-seat restaurant, 300-seat school lunch area; 3,700 s/f museum shop; 21,400 s/f administration; 1,500 s/f Founders Room; service/support areas; underground parking for 169 cars, bus facility for 11 tour buses;
10,000 s/f National Park Service maintenance facility |
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners services |
| Full Architectural Services |
| Kise Straw & Kolodner, Architects, Planners, Historians, Philadelphia, PA |
| Leslie E. Robertson Associates, New York, NY | | Brinjac Engineering, Inc., Philadelphia, PA |
| Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Inc., New York, NY |
|
Olin Partnership, Philadelphia, PA |
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