• Hopes and dreams realized as the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center opens

• April 20, 2009

Located in Skokie, Illinois, the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center celebrated the opening of its doors on Sunday, April 19. As a monument to the Jewish people who lost their lives during the Second World War, it’s mission is simple: to share and teach, through Holocaust survivors, their stories and experiences during the annihilation of more than six-million Jews in Nazi concentration camps; and to educate and bring awareness to the atrocities of genocide, a practice that continues in parts of the world today.
The Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, founded in 1981, after a late 1970’s attempted neo-Nazi march in Skokie, has gathered steam throughout the years, based on the realization that this dark period of history must be captured, displayed and taught. In 2001, talks began to design and build a structure appropriate for their mission. At a cost of $45 million, this new 64,000 square feet facility, containing as it’s “anchor” a German railroad car purportedly used to transport innocent victims to the death camps, is considered to be the largest in the Midwest.

A world-class team assembled for the project included: Chicago design architectural firm, Tigerman McCurry; architectural acoustics and audio/video consulting company, Kirkegaard Associates; Schuler Shook, theatre consultants; Layman Design, exhibit design and layout of the Permanent Exhibit; Michael Berenbaum, former Director of the U.S. Holocaust Research Institute at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, interior and exhibit co-designer; Yitzchak Mais, Senior Curator of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage; and KD&P Architects, with Inquirium, for the children’s interactive exhibit, “Take A Stand.” Ongoing commitment and collaboration between the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois; the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Holocaust survivors and members of the community has resulted in a design that is undeniably poignant to its cause.

Three stories high, the exterior of the building is notable. One half holds the entrance to the facility and is dark and metal clad. The remaining half is white. The former marks a descent into darkness; the latter, representative of ascendance into light. Located off Eden’s Expressway in Skokie, its presence is difficult to deny.

Interior spaces are diverse: conscientiously placed and insulated from exterior noise, and geometrically shaped. The flow of education is apparent – narrow hallways, special exhibitions gallery, classrooms, the 270-seat auditorium, events hall, and an interactive library and education center. Video screens “speak” within spaces, and exhibits holding hundreds of artifacts such as photographs, clothing, and diaries of survivors serve as remembrance. A living, teaching tool which offers lessons well learned — applicable to all cultures and upcoming generations that are willing to embrace responsibility and accountability in a future devoid of hate and intolerance. We can but hope!

Members of Kirkegaard Associates’ project team responsible for room acoustics in the auditorium and exhibit spaces, audio/video design, and noise isolation control are: Louie Sunga, Project Manager, architectural integration and room acoustics; Senior Consultant, Terry Tyson, mechanical noise and vibration control; Senior Consultant, Jonathan Darling and Consultant, Andrew Ochalek led the efforts of the audio/video team along with Consultant, Joanne Chang.