Allied Works Architecture (AWA) today shared designs for the Ohio Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, OH. Following an invited competition that included David Chipperfield Architects and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Allied Works was awarded the commission in the spring of 2013. The museum, located on the banks of the Scioto River, directly across from downtown Columbus, will open in 2016.

The Ohio Veterans Memorial and Museum is conceived as an architecture of two acts. The first is an act of landscape, where the surrounding parkland is cut, carved and lifted into the sky, creating a processional path to the sanctuary, a place of ceremony, celebration and reflection—a civic room for the city of Columbus. The second is an act of structure, where a series of concentric arches rise from the earth to hold the sanctuary above. These bands of interwoven concrete hold and protect the museum and its occupants within, creating a labyrinthine journey of exhibitions that illuminate ideas of service, duty and remembrance.

Located at the intersection of the new Scioto riverfront park and Broad Street, the 53,000sf museum houses exhibitions and artifacts that serve as a testimonial to the 250 years of military service of Ohio Veterans. The building provides a variety of education and interpretive spaces. The main level houses a great hall, museum store, and café for public events. Also on the main level is the primary gallery space, culminating in an interactive cyclorama reflecting on the history of service in Ohio. The lower floor contains support, presentation and education spaces, as well as a temporary exhibition space. A private remembrance hall is located on the upper level, adjacent to the exterior sanctuary space, which is approached by a sweeping ramp. This exterior civic room serves as a ceremonial and memorial space for the community at large.

“The new Veterans Memorial and Museum is a powerful piece of architecture that combines building and landscape in one elegant and fluid gesture,” said Brad Cloepfil, principal and founder of Allied Works Architecture. “As a form, it represents the grace of the land of Ohio; as a source of light and ceremony, it will become a marker of inspiration for the city of Columbus.”