Hardwood Floors June/July 2019

Wood The National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) in Columbus, Ohio, began with a vision from the late Senator John Glenn, Colonel, USMC (Retired), who understood the pressing need to carefully preserve not only the names, dates, and battles, but also the intimate memories, personal belongings, and painful losses of U.S. veterans. The foundational pillars of the NVMM are to honor Americans’ contributions to the country through military service; connect civilians with veterans and their experience; inspire visitors to serve their community and nation as active, engaged citizens; and educate schoolchildren about the history and value of service. curve above the By Megan Lhamon

• The National Wood Flooring Association launched a federally CONTRACTOR CORNER

registeredWood Flooring Specialist Apprenticeship at theWood Flooring Expo. This new apprenticeship designation is designed to help NWFAmembers attract new skilled labor into the wood flooring industry. Visit nwfa.org/ apprenticeship-program. aspx for more details. • Construction employment increased by 33,000 jobs in April and by 256,000 or 3.5 percent, during the past 12 months, while the number of unemployed jobseekers with construction fell to a record low for April, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

memorial room to honor fallen heroes, and a lower level incorporates a rotating exhibition gallery, interpretive classrooms, andmeeting rooms. FLOOR FOCUS The construction of the NVMM began in December 2015, and the museum celebrated its grand opening Oct. 27, 2018. Before the doors could open, a lot of work took place by NWFA members The Final Floor and Lanham Hardwood Flooring. Tony Stalford, Commercial Flooring Installation Specialist at The Final Floor, and his team installed 26,000 square feet of oak in a parquet pattern on all three levels of the museum. They also installed matching oak on the staircases – this differing slightly with the nosing on each stair featuring a walnut strip.

Equal to the mission of the museum is the architecture. From first sight, the building impresses upon visitors the importance of what lies within. The architect designed an iconic concrete arch structure, constructed from 28 million pounds of concrete, with a glass curtainwall system and spiral processional ascending to a rooftop sanctuary. Even before opening, the NVMM received international recognition for its innovative design and was named one of the most anticipated buildings of 2018 by Architectural Digest . The museum features a great hall, as well as a space for gatherings and public events. The exhibition galleries follow the curve of the concrete rings, and the experience concludes with an interactive media experience in the heart of the building. A second-floor mezzanine features a

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