The Museum at Prairiefire has a glowing flame-inspired façade crafted from dichroic glass and stainless steel panels.
In 2014, Boston-based architecture studio Verner Johnson designed the $17.3 million Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas. The building's playful flame-inspired façade is made from dichroic glass and stainless steel panels which contributes to how insulative and sustainable the building is, achieving the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver status.
The museum is designed to represent the prairie fires of the American Great Plains and mirrors the richly coloured landscape. The warm hues and volumetric shapes detailed within the glass façade change colour throughout the day as light passes through the material, giving the appearance as though the building is set alight.
Having opened in May 2014, the Museum at Prairiesfire is a collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, and the rooms within the building are inspired by American history and natural science: The Discovery Room, the American Museum of Natural History Exhibition Gallery and the Great Hall.
The materials used to build the museum were sourced locally from Kansas, inclusive of Kansas limestone, used to evoke striated rock formations. The application of the dichroic glass upon the building's wings mimics the shape of the rolling hills of the natural Midwestern landscape.
To learn more about the museum, visit their website.
All image credits: Museum of Pairiefire
