George Washington Carver Museum
Condition Assessment & ADA Modifications
Tuskegee, AL
Lord Aeck Sargent has assisted the National Park Service through a series of small projects aimed at preserving and updating the historic Carver Museum.
Built as a laundry between 1914 and 1916, the building that now houses the museum once served as a laboratory space for Carver’s experiments. LAS began with a comprehensive building condition assessment and preservation plan that identified the scope and location of repairs and developed general treatment recommendations and preliminary budgets.
While a complete rehabilitation of the Carver Museum is planned for the future, a few items were prioritized for immediate attention. LAS is currently working with the National Park Service to update the existing elevator, staircase and reception desk to be ADA compliant.
The current elevator is no longer functional. The cab is not large enough to meet today’s minimum requirements for accessibility and the adjacent spiral stair is not accessible. LAS has reconfigured the stair and elevator to allow for more efficient circulation at the Basement level Auditorium entry.
The existing reception desk, which is cramped and full of cabinetry designed for obsolete equipment, will be replaced with a sleek and more modular desk that will allow flexibility for future equipment upgrades.
