The old Museum Complex at Jackson Barracks, dedicated to the Louisiana National Guard, was largely destroyed by 20 foot flood waters from Hurricane Katrina. Most of the artifacts of the five-building complex lay buried in the mud, with many items lost forever. Using FEMA funding, the State of Louisiana challenged SCNZ to create a new unified, consolidated Museum building.

As restoration specialists salvaged the artifacts, SCNZ designed a 42,000 SF home for exhibit and restoration areas, collection storage, a 300-seat theater, offices, vaults, and the Central Library for the Guard containing archival documents dating back to the 1820’s. The design reflects the historic language of the campus on the exterior, with an eye on the interior to the modern with diffuse natural light and flexible exhibit spaces. The storage and archives are now all raised to the second floor, protecting against future flooding, with emergency power also raised to continue climate control and provide a safe arc to protect collection against future disasters. The Museum now has one of the largest and highest quality collections of any National Guard unit in the U.S., ranging from weaponry and uniforms, to tanks, artillery and airplanes. This facility was recently rated as so outstanding that it is currently being brought into the care of the Department of Defense’s national collection of Military Museums.