Cost:
$3,500,000

Size:
12,600 sf

Completion:
2003

The Flag House Museum is a history museum which interprets the home of Mary Pickersgill, the flag maker of the Star Spangled Banner. The Pickersgill house and a small support structure occupy the southeast quadrant of the site, the balance of which is a garden enclosed by a brick and wrought iron fence.

The 12,600 sf building houses all of the museum functions and is the primary entry point for visitors - it includes a gift shop, lobby, 55-seat visitor orientation theater, 4500 sf gallery, museum offices and collections storage area. The building is designed to take maximum advantage of the unique garden site providing a backdrop for the Pickersgill house and reserving the maximum area of the site as open space. A reorganization of the garden and establishment of new visitor entrances are part of the project.

The building is designed to thematically reinforce the primary story of the institution: the making of the Star Spangled Banner. This is achieved by infusing the building with references to the flag, including a glass wall representational of the original flag. The wall made of structural colored glass will be the same size as the original flag and allow visitors to experience the flag in an intimate and original manner via a ceremonial stair to the second level behind the wall. The backlit glass wall will provide a strong and memorable icon for the museum.

Project was recipient of a 2004 Design Award from Maryland AIA, an award in 2003 for innovation in glass design from USGlass Magazine and a 2003 Design Award from the Masonry Institute of Maryland.

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