Press Releases
"In 2005, the Army Heritage Center Foundation selected Fentress Bradburn Architects to design the Visitor and Education Center (VEC) for the Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
The VEC will become the second major building on the Army Heritage and Education Center (AHEC) campus and will serve as main entrance and support facility to the complex. Already completed is Ridgway Hall, the home of the Military History Institute. The completed AHEC campus also will include the Army Heritage Museum, the Army Heritage Trail and an artifact and document conservation facility.
'The importance of the VEC to the AHEC campus cannot be overstate,' said Col. Robert Dalessandro, the Director of the Army Heritage and Education Center. 'It is the front door to the AHEC. It is the first impression. We were looking for an icon that would talk to and about the Army.'
Fentress Bradburn presented four concepts for the design of the VEC, each suggesting a different interpretation of the Army. The AHEC and the Army Heritage Center Foundation leadership agreed that the chosen design provided an iconic image.
'The Center's architecture will make a powerful statement,' said lead designer Curtis Fentress. 'Distinctive building elements will coalesce in a magnificent structure, just as individual soldiers band together to for the US Army.'
The inspiration for the selected design stemmed from the various images of Army service, including arrows in the eagle's talons from the Army crest, images of raised tank and artillery tubes, stacked arms, and the "Arch of Swords" that symbolizes military weddings. After viewing this design, Col. Dalessandro said that the stacking of arms 'spoke to me.'
The 66,000 square-foot VEC facility will house the first gallery of the Army Heritage Museum and also will include a cafe, 125-seat auditorium, 600-seat multipurpose room, museum store, and office space.
The Army Heritage Center Foundation, which along with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is funding construction, hopes to break ground for the new facility by early winter 2007. A grand opening is planned for the spring of 2008.
The estimated cost of the VEC is approximately $22 million. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved a $10 million redevelopment Capital Assistance Program grant in November 2006. The Army Heritage Center Foundation will raise the remaining funds through private, corporate and foundation donations."