World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
Honolulu, HI
The new Pearl Harbor Visitor Center opened to the public on December 7, 2010, 69 years after the attack. The National Park Service was committed to telling a balanced and multi-layered story of this seminal event to a growing audience – an audience that is increasingly international, and further removed each year from direct connections with WWII.
A sequence of open-air pavilions and outdoor galleries present the complex story of escalating international tensions prior to the attack, the sequence of events and resulting chaos of December 7th itself, through initial responses and turning points in the months afterward.
Throughout this historical narrative, the human nature of the experience is conveyed through the varied perspectives of the men and women involved – civilian and military, on all sides of the conflict – and by dramatic objects, from small personal effects to huge slabs of violently torn steel.
Special emphasis is placed on universal accessibility to exhibits and site, through carefully planned tactile models, descriptive audio, and media presentations and interactives. Exhibit galleries, lighting and media systems, and micro-climate controlled artifact cases are designed to optimize sustainability, alongside exhibition and curatorial operations.
Exhibition design team lead, concept through detailed design; with AldrichPears Associates.
Architectural and site design by The Portico Group.