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Mashantucket
Pequot Museum and Research Center Primary considerations in the design of this Museum and Research Center were: the tribal mandate to create a powerful three-dimensional image that will forever represent, validate and celebrate the history of the Mashantucket Pequot nation; the necessity to create a structure that will respect the ecological and archeological value of the site; the tribe's historic dependence on both inland agricultural and aquatic zones; and the plan of the original Mystic Fort, site of the 1637 massacre, as a symbol of the rebirth of the Mashantucket Pequot nation. Providing a visual, spatial and textural link to the cultural heritage of the Pequot tribe, this facility contains a permanent exhibit celebrating tribal history, a temporary gallery, a 150,000-volume library, children's library, archeology laboratory, auditorium, collections storage, herbarium and botany laboratory. The Center's three principal program elements are the Gathering Space, Museum and Research Center. Although functionally integrated and physically connected, each is expressed formally in a manner representing the spirit of its particular mission: the Gathering Space, which is the figural and literal heart of the facility and the central organizing space, is a circular form; the Museum, which is largely underground, is an organic landform; and the Research Center is a linear bar element. On the east, the building terminates in a 200-foot high stone-clad tower. This vertical element marks the entry, identifies the facility from a distance and provides access to a platform from which a visitor or tribal member can view the entire reservation. Awards
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