2019 Design + Build

Princeville Mobile Museum

Project Information

Clients: Town of Princeville

Location: Princeville, NC

Size: 275 SQFT

Program: Create a Mobile History Museum for use while the flooded museum is repaired and beyond. It shall be used to display artifacts, graphic presentation materials, and videography as determined by the museum curator to tell the story of Princeville, NC; the first town incorporated by African Americans in the United States in 1885. It shall be a moving advertisement for the Town of Princeville when on route to each destination.

Materials: Corten Steel and Wood

Students: Parker Smith, Ethan Atherton, Steven Davidson, Zachary Dawkins, Alyssa Dohler, Amanda Fuller, Sarah Hefner, Toneisha Mathis, Elenor Methven, Jesse Reichmeider, Clint Ronsick, Charles Rymer, Dusty Sicard, Timothy Yang

Instructors: Randall Lanou, BuildSense; Erik Mehlman, BuildSense; Ellen Cassilly, Ellen Cassilly Architect; Mark Storch, Teaching Assistant

Instructional Collaborators: Ryan Stamey, BuildSense

Structural Engineer: Robert Macia, PE, Scalene Design

Over an 11 week period fifteen students designed and built a mobile museum that celebrates the heritage and perseverance of Princeville. As a small town with a significant story this museum envisions a narrative from the past, present, and the future. The past is a gallery space that houses historical artifacts and graphic representations of the town. The present depicts a porch that looks out to the current disposition of Princeville and acts as a community gathering space for storytelling. The future is a space that opens up and gives opportunities for residents of Princeville to record and document stories that have yet to be told. The exterior materials bring this narrative together utilizing weathering steel, wood, and glass to blend the old with the new.