The newest addition to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana includes a 4-D Theater, performance hall, executive offices, a retail store and a restaurant. This is the first of a multi-phase expansion to take place over several years, and it features metal wall panels from CENTRIA. The goal of this phase is to provide a forum to preserve the stories of WWII veterans and showcase their accomplishments to an international audience. The museum hopes to protect this priceless historical insight for potential case studies and research, while at the same time motivating future generations to study and learn from this complex military operation.

The focus of this first phase of construction is to unite new features in the museum to the existing museum structure in a way that easily allows for future expansion. The lobby has been doubled in size, and balconies have been added to create an “architectural promenade,” allowing visitors to travel inside and outside the museum on elevated walkways.

Once completed in 2015, the museum will include four additional exhibition buildings, as well as space for traveling collections, on its 300,000-square-foot campus. The National WWII Museum is one of the most visited destinations in the city of New Orleans.

Metal was used in this project as a way of providing contrast to the large-scale, precast concrete that covers the building’s street façade. The goal was to balance that heaviness by designing the façade facing the internal courtyard, also known as the Parade Ground, to have a lighter look and feel, along with adding some color. The versatility of CENTRIA’s Profile Series Exposed Fastener Profiles Econolap ½” made it the perfect fit for the job.

Profile Series Exposed Fastener Profiles provided a seamless, sleek aesthetic, along with outstanding performance and sustainability benefits. The panels add a feeling of openness to the indoor/outdoor walkways around the museum, helping enhance the view of the centerpiece Parade Ground space. The all-weather installation capability was another important benefit given New Orleans’ unpredictable weather. The vast assortment of colors and finishes the architect had to choose from, along with the fact that the panels were able to be used for both interior and exterior walls, made Profile Series Exposed Fastener Panels the perfect choice to soften the building.

The museum expansion was recognized with a Members Choice Award at the 2010 AIA Louisiana Design Conference.