Buffalo Bill Center of the West
Scope of Work
Consulting
Berggren Architects completed an assessment for the museum.
Location
Cody, WY
History
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a series of five museums, the first built in 1959.
Completion
This project was completed in 2021.
The Challenge
In 2020 the Buffalo Bill Center of the West (BBCW) was awarded a grant, PF-271921-20, from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Under the category Humanities Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program, the center proposed to develop a comprehensive plan to solve collections preservation issues in existing storage and work areas.
The biggest problem is that they all lack sufficient storage for the collections entrusted to their care. In sync with the lack of sufficient storage is the lack of sufficient work space within the collection vaults. The collection storage spaces which do exist have limited, to essentially no control, of the environments surrounding the artifacts.
Notes:
However, most of these priorities require relocation of those artifacts stored within the vaults. Unfortunately, space is so limited that there is no alternative storage location available.
At numerous locations throughout this report there are references to moisture penetrating the building envelope of the various museums.
Recommended improvements by consulting conservator, architect and engineer that will maximize:
- the preservation environment
- space efficiency; and
- access to collections by staff and the public.
The Strategy
Berggren Architects teamed with conservator Dr. Nancy Odegaard and mechanical engineer Wyatt Wirges to use their expertise to form a strong team of consultants for solving the challenges at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
Prior to the on-site visit, the team of consultants reviewed information on the facility structures, its collections, exhibitions, and public programs. The On-Site 5-Day Visit took place on March 21-27, 2021 and included group meetings, ongoing individual discussions with staff members, accompanied access to storage, exhibition spaces work areas, and reviewed floor plans provided by staff.
An ideal situation would have collections storage vaults surrounded by spaces with moderate environmental conditions. Considering this, Berggren Architects and their team of consultants have come to the conclusion that the ideal location for the new facility is the exterior area surrounded on three sides by the Cody Firearms Museum and the Whitney Western Art Museum.
Notes:
We have come to the conclusion that the most expeditious means to satisfy all concerns is the construction of a new facility dedicated to creating an ideal environment for the storage of all the collections entrusted to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. The Registration Area, including the Registrar’s Office and Files should be relocated to the primary access point of this new facility.
The Results
When the total project is completed we will have added an additional 28,800 square feet of new construction, 14,800 square feet of renovation to the Whitney’s Lower Level and 9500 square feet of reconstruction with only 125 lineal feet of new exterior wall and less than 11,600 square feet of new roof area.
The project will create more than 35,000 square feet of state-of-the-art collections storage and will have freed up more than 14,000 square feet of former vault storage for other purposes.
Notes:
We have estimated that amount of space would provide sufficient space for a shared collections storage vault dedicated to the large objects currently not being housed in their respective vaults and three other collections storage vaults dedicated to three of the five museums.
This location will eliminate over 480 lineal feet of foundation wall scheduled to be repaired and dampproofed.
This location takes advantage of the original freight elevator.
This location provides the shortest distance to connect the Lower Levels of Cody Firearms Museum and the Buffalo Bill Museum.
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