Project Update: The Mississippi Museums

CDFL recently had the privilege of touring the two Mississippi Museums here in Jackson with Project Manager and CDFL architect Chris Myers. The 350,000 square foot building will house both the Mississippi State History Museum and the country’s first ever state sponsored Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. It is slated to open in December 2017.

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Thrash Construction Superintendent Richard Horton looks on as CDFL’s Chris Myers describes the Hall of History.

The Hall of History shows the connection from the more traditional history museum to the contemporary Civil Rights building. The display window of the museum store can be seen at the end.

The plaza created by the Museums consists of a grass and paver system installed over tapered foam panels. This protects the visitor parking garage below ground.

A concrete stairway provides a somewhat dramatic pedestrian access point from the public parking garage to the front entrance of the building.

The view from the Hall of History looking across the main lobby to the entrance of the Civil Rights exhibit. The entry to the museum store to the left can be open and shut using a movable glass partition system. The integrated tile ceiling allows for the orderly arrangement of lighting, HVAC, and sprinkler systems.

 A view from the balcony into the history exhibit space below. A curved stair allows visitors a dramatic view of the exhibit space from above.

Large windows allow for substantial natural light into the Hall of History.

A view from the balcony on Level 2 down into the 2-story main entrance lobby. Sixteen linear pendant lights will hang over the welcome desk from the suspended square cloud. Glass balcony rails will provide minimal obstructions of the space.

The central gallery of the Civil Rights exhibit will be home to This Little Light of Mine, an interactive fabric sculpture that will adapt its light and audio activity based on the number of visitors in the space. At night, the sculpture can be seen from outside through the large windows around the space. The soffit around the space will be covered with the names of Mississippians who gave their lives in the fight for civil rights.