nmsd-dillon-hall-1

Education

Building a love of learning

NMSD Library and Museum

This new building combines a deaf-friendly library with a museum that celebrates the history of deaf education; the modern building complements the campus without mimicking the historic pueblo style buildings. This facility replaced an existing library that was in poor condition and a museum that was inaccessible due to its location. The library design is deaf-friendly, with natural light, low shelving, good sightlines, and a storytelling area for younger students. The library interior is warm and welcoming to help foster a lifetime love of learning and reading in all of NMSD's students, and includes NMSD's print media collections as well as curricular resources.

The Kenneth Brasel Museum houses a comprehensive collection of American deaf school history and memorabilia and serves as a valuable research center for students, historians, and writers.

The Kenneth Brasel Museum houses a comprehensive collection of American deaf school history and memorabilia and serves as a valuable research center for students, historians, and writers. The main exhibit layout is based on a timeline that traces the school's history with space allocated for temporary exhibits and future milestones. The museum design protects the historic collection and promotes flexibility through a combination of new and refurbished cases, concealed strapping for mounted exhibits, adjustable track lighting, and a dry pipe sprinkler system.

The building's simple form and colored, board-formed concrete walls match the colors of the surrounding campus, but enrich the palette with a new material. The interior of the museum has a more historic feel with white walls, hardwood flooring, and wood trim that echoes the character of the original NMSD museum. An exterior display window and interior glass wall at the library entry provide glimpses of the museum to raise awareness of the collection.

Client
New Mexico School for the Deaf

Location
Santa Fe, NM

Size
Under 10,000 sf

Disciplines

Beyond the Building

  • Community Benefit
  • Experience Redefined
  • Mission Support

 

NMSD Museum_anchor