MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Winchester, VA, United States

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, a new institution when MGA was commissioned to design its building, is located on the Glen Burnie estate, where a 1794 Georgian-style house and 25 acres of historic gardens are open to visitors. The museum’s 53,000-SF program includes galleries, educational facilities, gift shop, tearoom, offices, conservation laboratory, and collection storage. The museum’s design complements its context without imitating it. The symmetry of the façade, the classical division of facades into base, middle and top, the pitched roofs and lantern above the entrance lobby, and the brick materials with white trim, all fall within the familiar vocabulary of the Georgian context but are expressed in a more contemporary and interpretive manner. The architectural character of the galleries, particularly the articulated wooden ceilings, is also contextual and relates to the thematic content of the exhibits that describe the history, culture, and art of the Shenandoah Valley.