Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum

Copper Panel Manufacturer

A2MG Architectural Metal & Glass, Inc.
Kansas City, Missouri

Copper Panel Installer

F.L. Crane & Sons, Inc.
Fulton, Mississippi

The Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame, located in historic Natchitoches, Louisiana, is clad with pleated copper panels, creating a louvered skin that controls light and ventilation, animates the facade and employs surface articulation previously achieved by architectural ornamentation. The new building merges two contrasting collections that were formerly housed in a university coliseum and a nineteenth century courthouse, respectively. While sports and regional history may appeal to different audiences, the exhibits and their configuration explore the interconnections between the two, housed within a design that mediates the dialogue between sports and history, past and future, container and contained.

The "simple" copper exterior alludes to the shutters and clapboards of nearby plantations and both contrasts and complements the curvaceous interior within. Inside, at the climax of the upper level, a path arrives at a veranda overlooking the city square, sheltered by copper louvers.

Architectural Categories: Horizontal Seam Roofs and Walls, Exotic or Unusual Applications