The purpose of this project is to create an historical cultural museum for Germantown, Pennsylvania. My concept boils down to making a space that brings about a sense of familiarity and community to the resident of Germantown, through material choices to exhibit types. My design strategy is to use a sun and radial shape to lead visitors through an historical cultural museum of Germantown, Pennsylvania. The lines radiating from the main circle defining the lobby space guides visitors from the front to the back of the museum. The arched walls and mezzanine shape creates drama and intrigue as they are used as points of emphasis (i.e. in the lobby and behind the grand stair case). These walls are also placed so the museum must be explored. In short, one cannot see the entire museum in one spot, they must move around the space to experience it. The first area that greets guests is the lobby which has three points of entry that people can choose to move through. The first area is made to make guests feel a sense of community by exhibiting items donated by local residents. The next exhibit celebrates Germantown’s greatest historical moments during the colonial time period to reflect the city’s pride about events such as the Battle of Germantown which is reenacted to this day. The next exhibit educates people on how pervious residents have lived over the last two hundred years by showing the evolution of the furniture design and use in Germantown. The final exhibit upstairs is for residents of Germantown to see the kinds of success that Germantown locals can achieve.

I decided to use materials that are commonly found in Germantown itself. Materials such as brick and wood were often used in construction in America during the colonial time period. These construction efforts can still be seen today due to preservation efforts but also because of the profound influence these buildings and materials have had on future construction. To this day brick and wood is often used in Germantown and therefore feels familiar to local residents. To reflect architectural history and to make residents feel instantly comfortable in the museum, I use brick walls and wood flooring throughout the public spaces and even some private spaces of the museum. Glass and metal were used in the original construction of the building and were kept to save money and to be sustainable. The many windows allows lots of natural light to enter the space which is also sustainable. Finally, orange was chosen as the accent color to be used mostly in office and private areas of the museum. Orange was chosen because it is a bright color that compliments the orange tones of the brick.