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.
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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.
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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.

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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.

More about the
Arts & Cultural Centers
Category

Since the 1980s, we’ve worked with some of the nation’s leading conservators to assess museum facilities across the Midwest. With decades of experience, we have the sensitivity necessary to preserve and protect the priceless collections held in museums across the country.

Our team has experience detailing the optimal environments for all types of collections which hold all forms of artwork, artifacts, documents of antiquity, and objects of natural history. We have provided post-assessment services for many museums, including grant-funded reassessments and corrective construction projects.

All
Arts & Cultural Centers
Iconic Government Centers
Education Centers
Living Spaces
Spiritual Centers
Government Support Facilities

Our Process

We listen to you

We are preservation architects, let’s get together and talk about your project. Once we know your ideas, we can start your project in the right directions.

We involve you in the planning

Planning projects is what we do. We’ll work with you to develop the best way to implement your ideas. Our written documents are the road map which is essential to ensuring your expectations.

We make it happen

When you’re ready to implement your ideas, we’ll gather together the craftsmen and women necessary and bring your ideas to life. Architecture is in the details. We will follow your project through completion ensuring all the details meet your expectations.
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What We Offer

Restoration

We offer restoration and preservation of your historic structures. Using extraordinary materials and craftsmanship, our historic structures are a lasting tribute to the people for whom they were built.

Consulting

We offer consulting services to both general clients and professional clients in sharing our knowledge and expertise in the area of historic preservation. Our master planning and preservation planning prepares our clients to be better able to plan for the life of their historic structures and districts.

New Construction

We know the meaning of sustainability because of our in-depth work with structures which have stood the test of time. We offer sustainable and green new construction which is historically sympathetic, including in the form of additions.

Our Team

Principal, Preservation Architect

Jerry L. Berggren, AIA
Production Manager

Garry Martin
Contract Consultant

Farheen Sirajuddin
Architectural Historian

Janet Jeffries
Architectural Student Intern

Alexi Caines
Media Production Manager

Kameron Dadgostar
Staff Architect

Leroy Svatora, AIA
Architectual Student Intern

Maegan Ludena-Llanos
Media Production Intern

Grace Shepherd
Architectual Student Intern

Sharon Guchu
Operations Manager

Jess Larsen
Principal, Preservation Architect

Jerry L. Berggren, AIA

In 1977, Jerry Berggren founded what would become Berggren Architects, P.C. The firm began as a sole proprietorship in Lincoln, Nebraska and has since then been dedicated to the preservation of Nebraska’s finest architecture. The 1983 Jobs Bill was the milestone which introduced the firm to its most significant building type, the historic county courthouse. A project to improve the thermal efficiency of the windows at the Johnson County Courthouse in Tecumseh also initiated Berggren’s concern for energy conservation and an ongoing commitment to sustainable design.

Today, Jerry Berggren has expanded his firm. He continues to employ professionals and interns focused on historic preservation and extending the life of our built environment. One growing sector of Berggren Architects, P.C. is our consulting service. As preservation consultants, we share our expertise in historic buildings with other architectural firms. After more than 30 years of assessing the historic structures in the care of local and regional museums, Jerry has developed yet another passion: the design and assessment of museums’ collections storage. At many museums, collections storage is too often an afterthought. When the budget has been spent, a museum’s most treasured possessions are commonly left in the least desirable facility. Jerry is sharing his experience with collections storage design and maintenance, as architect or consultant, with museums throughout the Midwest. The future will undoubtedly hold more unexpected opportunities and challenges. He looks forward to each of those, and you are invited to contact him directly regarding the architectural challenges you face.

Production Manager

Garry Martin

Garry has been working in the architectural field continuously since obtaining a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1991. He had previously worked with Jerry Berggren as an intern in 1989 and the experience piqued his interest in the field of preservation. Garry leads the production team at Berggren Architects, P.C.

Contract Consultant

Farheen Sirajuddin

Farheen, a citizen of India, began her career with formal education in that country achieving the status of architect. When her husband was transferred to the U.S., she seized the opportunity to study at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln graduating in 2019 with her Master of Architecture. She immediately became one of our full time employees continuing to work until her student visa expired in July of 2020. Having to return to India, we thought we had lost a valued employee. Thanks to COVID, we have had to learn to work remotely. Farheen, now living in Canada, has once again joined us. This time as a contract consultant and we are very grateful to have her back.

Architectural Historian

Janet Jeffries

Janet has a career history as an educator, writer, and researcher in the field of historical and architectural preservation. She currently works as the College Historian for Doane College in Crete, NE and is the Curator for the Crete Heritage Society. Janet is currently employed as the firm’s Architectural/Preservation Historian.

Architectural Student Intern

Alexi Caines

Alexi joined Berggren Architects in 2021. In her first year as a Larsen Legacy intern, her responsibilities began with coordinating office operations and research. Her current responsibilities include marketing and preparation of construction documents and design.

Media Production Manager

Kameron Dadgostar

Kameron joined Berggren Architects in September of 2022 as a Media Production Intern. Responsibilities include creating digital videos for the company, filming footage on site of current projects, website development as well as creating and updating existing content and project information.

Staff Architect

Leroy Svatora, AIA

Leroy has been continuously involved in the practice of Architecture since receiving his Master’s Degree in Architecture from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1977. He began working part-time in an architectural office prior to graduation and worked briefly with Jerry in the 1980’s. After leaving Jerry’s office, he became licensed in the State of Nebraska, and worked for other firms in Lincoln on a variety of project types and scales. Since then, he has returned to assist Berggren Architects once more.

Architectual Student Intern

Maegan Ludena-Llanos

Berggren Architects welcomed Maegan in 2022. Her duties as a Larsen Legacy assistant started out with organizing the offices’ activities and conducting research. Her current duties include overseeing QuickBooks, setting up and maintaining workplace supplies, and serves as our office’s front-facing representative.

Media Production Intern

Grace Shepherd

Grace joined the Berggren Architects team in June of 2023 as a Media Production Intern part of the McCown Media Internship Program. Grace is a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying Emerging Media Arts. She is carrying on the McCown Media Internship Program by filming, editing, and publishing digital content for Berggren Architects and aiding in website development.

Architectual Student Intern

Sharon Guchu

in 2023, Sharon joined Berggren Architects. Her responsibilities as a Larsen Legacy Intern include managing QuickBooks, setting up and maintaining office supplies, and acts as the front-facing representative of our company to the public.

Operations Manager

Jess Larsen

Jess rejoined Berggren Architects as Operations Manager in 2023. Jess originally began her tenure at Berggren in 2016 as an intern while working on her undergraduate degree in Architecture from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After 3 years with Berggren, when Jess graduated with her undergraduate degree in 2019, she moved to New York City to work as an operations associate for an art consulting firm. Jess has worked with major real estate developers, interior designers, and international artists for her award-winning projects. She is back with Berggren part-time to manage company operations, and to ensure Berggren Architects runs smoothly.

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