Nordic Museum wins 2020 Buildy Awards

The National Nordic Museum has been recognized for its architecture, community engagement, and national status in the annual Buildy Awards.

The Buildy Award recognizes recent museum building projects, and was created to, “increase awareness of the value of museums and by the public at large, of the value of museums and the need for their ongoing rehabilitation and expansion to serve future generations.”

The Nordic was chosen not only for its green construction, but also for its outstanding representation of Nordic countries.

From the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums:

In its’ previous location, the museum was often constrained in its ability to fulfill its programmatic mission. Through the planning and construction of a new, purpose-built, museum building, the museum was able to fulfill its expanded mission, and meet goals for visitor experience and audience outreach. The new facility has made the Museum a premier destination in the Pacific Northwest and has raised the National Nordic Museum onto the global stage as a leader for the representation and sharing of Nordic arts and culture. The core exhibition expands upon the museum’s classic immigration story to include a broader understanding of Nordic life and culture, tracing Nordic themes of connection to nature, sustainability, social justice, and innovation from the earliest anthropological records through contemporary Nordic society.

The award committee noted a few key reasons for choosing the Nordic, including:

1. The Museum communicated well with the surrounding neighborhood by hosting Community Engagement receptions to orient the community to the Museum’s plans for the future. The Museum also collected input and generated support from representatives from a host of local cultural organizations, educational institutions, business owners and associations, and local government officials.
2. The design of the museum employs a “fjord motif.” This not only serves as an interior organizational element that is clear and concise, but it also greatly supports the whole storyline of the museum
3. Congress passed legislation in early 2019 to grant the museum status as the National Nordic Museum. This itself is a true testament to the Museum’s success.

The Nordic Museum’s CEO Eric Nelson accepted the award last week at the Museum Symposium in Chicago.

Photo courtesy Mithun