National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
Fort Worth, USA
2015
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame honors and celebrates women, past and present, whose lives exemplify the courage, resilience and independence that contributed to shape shape the West, and fosters an appreciation of the ideals and spirit of self-reliance they inspire.
Started in 1975, in the basement of the Deaf Smith County Library in Hereford, Texas, the Museum and Hall of Fame moved to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1994 to plan for and build a new permanent home.
On 2002 the idea became reality. The building, designed by David M. Schwarz, was located on the Will Rogers Memorial Complex located in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District, which is also home to the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the Amon Carter Museum.
In 2015, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame began renovations of the galleries and public spaces.
The architecture and exhibit design
The interior spaces were designed by the Paris architect firm Projectiles, who were appointed to refurbish the permanent collection’s exhibition space and the temporary exhibition gallery (all in all close to 2000sqm) as well as to design an outdoor reception area.Architectural proposal “is inspired by the sensory, graphical and material imaginary of the cowgirls’ universe, without lapsing in a cliché and literal interpretation of it.Curved lines, patterns, thick or bumpy materials mingle with the portraits, voices, films, clothes and objects belonging to the cowgirls and unite the two levels of the museum.The spatial boundaries of the galleries are treated like panoramic openings on the wide and linear landscape of the American West. The horizon thus becomes part of the visitor’s path through the exhibition”.
The display cases
Goppion has created unique, entirely curvilinear showcases for the Museum, perfectly integrated into the architecture of the building and equipped with an LED spot lighting system.
Plinths with rotating mannequins were also supplied.
For the central entrance hall, a system of panels that descend from the ceiling and rotate, synchronized by motors, has also been designed and installed.