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‘Our projects help educate andinspire people,” says BradNederhoff, Verner Johnson’smanaging principal, explain-

ing what makes every project a rewardingexperience for the Boston-based firm. “Manytimes, a child will go to a museum and getinspired to become an artist, a scientist or ateacher by something he or she sees and expe-riences while visiting a museum.”

Education and inspiration were at the heartof the project Robert Kirkland is developing inhis hometown of Union City, Tenn. Kirkland,who made his fortune selling a variety of retailproducts carrying his name, wanted to build aworld-class museum and historical park in thesmall town where he lives, so he invested $100million of his own money to make his dreamcome true. “Kirkland felt that kids and familiesin that rural area [Union City] should have thesame possibility to learn about different kindsof cultural and historical facts as people wholive in big cities,” Nederhoff explains.

The project, named Discovery Park ofAmerica, will consist of a 100,000-square-footmuseum. It will be surrounded by a 50-acrepark with a central water feature, historicbuildings, historical recreations, artifacts of dif-ferent eras pertaining to the local area andeven a chapel where people can get married.

The museum building, with a futuristicdesign reminiscent of the shape of a dinosaur,has been strategically situated near a newlydeveloped interstate highway to amaze andattract travelers. “Mr. Kirkland wanted some-thing that nobody had ever seen before, some-thing that had a big wow factor, a big surprise,”Nederhoff says. “The building is very dramatic,with a façade in white and silver aluminumpanels, curving metal roofs in different shapesand big volumes and spaces.”

One of the key design features of theDiscovery Park of America museum is the 200-foot-tall observation tower. “There is nothinglike that close by since it’s a rural area with lowbuildings,” Nederhoff notes. “The front end ofthe balcony and the floor all around that areaare made of glass panels. You walk over theseglass pannels and see all the way all the way tothe ground bellow.”

The tower is topped by a large U.S. flag. “Mr.Kirkland wanted the biggest flag we could pos-sibly find,” Nederhoff explains. “There was a lotof engineering into the strength of the flagpole because of its height and the dimensionsof the flag, about 25 by 15 feet. Our team alsohad to consider the wind loads, and design acustom pulley system to safely raise and lowerthe flag from a safe area on the tower roof.”

Inside the building, the expansive spacesopen up to each other, with a focal area calledthe Grand Hall situated to one side andcrowned with a partial domed roof almost 100feet high. The building’s three, 18-foot-highexhibit levels will look into this space that willbe partially occupied by replicas of dinosaurexhibits and used for other functions.

Another exhibit designed to amaze visitorswill be a giant -size human being. “It’s basedon a fisherman sitting on a stool,” Nederhoffexplains. “It’s made of stainless steel pipes,almost like a sculpture. Visitors will be able to

run through the different areas and find anexhibit of the heart in the mid-section, or thebrain at the top. There is also going to be a slidethat goes from one level to the next throughthe giant human’s leg.”

Collaborating with New York-based exhibitdesigner Thinc Design, the exhibits were coor-dinated with the functional parts of the build-

Educate and InspireVERNER JOHNSON INC. IS SEEING NEW PROJECTS COME TO COMPLETION. BY MARTA JIMÉNEZ-LUTTER

Verner Johnson Inc. www.vernerjohnson.com• Headquarters: Boston, Mass.Discover Park of America, Union City,Tenn.• Budget: $30 million for Museum$100 including surrounding park.

Museum of Prariefire, Overland, Kan.• Budget: $17 million

Verner Johnson specializes indesigning museum projects

throughout the country.

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Photo Credit: Thinc Design

MAY/JUNE 2013

ing. “There is an earthquake simulator, which is a platform where youstand, surrounded by video screens, with moving props above you,”Nederhoff explains. “The platform will sway on a hydraulic system andgive you the impression – in combination with the visuals on thescreens – of being in the middle of a real earthquake.”

Verner Johnson made sure to coordinate the components needed forthe earthquake simulator with the structural requirements of the build-ing to ensure different elements, such as ductwork, would not interferewith each other.

The Discovery Park of America has been carefully designed to fulfillKirkland’s vision of incorporating interactive elements into each of theexhibits. The new museum will open its doors to the public in the fallof 2013.

Museum of the PrairiefireAt a smaller scale than Kirkland’s vision at only 41,000 square foot, theMuseum of Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kan., will be nevertheless asfull of wonder for its visitors as the Discovery Park of America.

This new museum project is targeting LEED Gold certification andwill be host to traveling exhibits and a children’s discovery room. “ThePrairiefire Museum is affiliated with the American Museum of NaturalHistory in New York,” Nederhoff explains. “Their traveling exhibits areamong the best in the world and are designed and shared with othermuseums and changed every five or six months.”

The unique architecture of the façade is evocative of the controlledprairie fires Native Americans in the Kansas area set to keep the prairiehealthy for grazing bison. “The design of the building evokes images ofthe controlled prairie burns which occur every spring. There are differ-ent kinds of limestone native to the area used in a variety of colors andpatterns,” Nederhoff explains. “These undulating shapes are like thehills of the prairie and the colors are made to look as if there has been afire, with a darker limestone colors at the bottom gradating to lightercolors at the top.

“The center area has a special kind of iridescent stainless steel thatchanges color when seen at different angles. We’re using different typesand colors so when you move around the building, the color willchange depending on how the sunlight hits it. It will be almost like fire.”

The glass used in the façade will be dichroic glass, which will look likeregular glass at certain angles, but will show different colors at others,such as yellow or purple. “The glass and metal represent the flames ofthe prairie fire,” Nederhoff says. “It will be a dramatic façade; most peo-

ple have probably never seen a building that changes color on its own.”This unique $17 million museum is the centerpiece of an ambitious

$500 million development made possible by Verner Johnson’s client,Fred Merrill, president of Merrill Companies LLC. “Mr. Merrill has donea remarkable job of assembling the entire development,” Nederhoffnotes. “He and his wife Candy, came up with the idea of making it anaffiliation with the museum in New York and exclusively hosting theirtravelling exhibits.

Construction manager McCown Gordon Construction also partici-pated in the museum’s design and construction phases to help ensurethe tight schedule is achieved and the museum can open in 2014.

Discovery Park of Americaaims to bring a big-citymuseum to a rural area.

» The Museum of Prariefireis being designed to meetLEED Gold specifications.

«Photo Credit: Verner Johnson, Inc.Ph

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Published by Phoenix Media Corporation Tel: 312.676.1101 Fax: 312.676.1280On behalf of Verner Johonson © 2013 Phoenix Media Corporation. All rights reserved.