National Museum of Women in the Arts Renovation and Restoration
Washington, D.C
Merit Award
Sent by: Grunley Construction Co.
Owner: National Museum of Women in the Arts
Main design company: Marshall Craft Associates Inc.
Lead Architect/Design: Sandra Vicchio & Associates LLC
General contractor: Grunley Construction Co.
With approximately 5,500 pieces of art, the museum that champions and showcases women in the arts is housed in a historic 1907 building that became a museum in 1983. A wing was added in 1997. Renovating the two buildings, totaling 92,000 square feet, the The team updated the museum lobby, reception, event spaces, collection warehouse, library, offices, galleries, education center, gift shop, conference rooms, show room and catering kitchen. Other work includes mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire safety systems; environmental separation of a four-story connecting staircase between galleries; and archive upgrades, rare book storage, conservation spaces and high-density archiving.
The designed mechanical systems did not align with the existing roof plenums and mechanical spaces due to variations in structural conditions, beam sizes, and space limitations. To address the problem, several coordination teams from each trade were deployed simultaneously on different floors.
Photo courtesy of Grunley Construction Co.
During the demolition, the team found that approximately 95% of the exterior wall plaster needed to be reduced. These unforeseen site conditions forced a phased opening that delayed the planned completion of April 2023 to December 2023. However, the $52.4 million project ended up under budget by about two years
