Building The Michael Klahr Center

By Sara Lennon

In April 1985, Governor Brennan hosted tea at the Blaine House in Augusta for a small group of Holocaust survivors and allies to commemorate Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance. The group had been active in organizing a 1984 seminar at Bowdoin College to train teachers in Holocaust education. Gerda Haas, the leader of the group, had started to organize other survivors and allies after being appointed to the Maine Board of Education and realizing that many Maine schools weren’t even teaching about the Holocaust. So that day just after tea at the Blaine House, Gerda and her allies walked across to the Secretary of State’s office to file papers to officially launch the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine.

From its inception, the HHRC has presented programs and exhibits for schools and summer educational trainings for teachers. Holocaust survivors who had moved to Maine began to travel the state telling their stories in schools—as well as writing down their memories and recording audio and video interviews for permanent preservation with the HHRC. In the mid-1990s, the HHRC published and distributed The Spirit that Moves Us, a three-volume resource guide for teaching about diversity, prejudice, human rights, and the Holocaust. The volumes were shared with every school library in Maine.

Envisioning a permanent home

But it wasn’t until 2005 that the HHRC began the process of building a permanent home for its growing community and myriad activities. The community had raised significant funds through generous donations when Phyllis Jalbert, the recent widow of Holocaust survivor Michael Klahr, donated $500,000 to honor his legacy of educating students and spreading human rights. “It feels so right to do this,” said Ms. Jalbert, “I wanted to do something meaningful in memory of my husband. It resonated for me.” With $900,000 raised for the project, and a crucial partnership with UMA Augusta established (including a long-term lease for the land and agreement to own and maintain the new Center), Executive Director Sharon Nichols announced a design competition the day after University of Maine System trustees approved the plan. She contacted architecture schools, firms, and members of the American Institute of Architects with guidelines and an invitation to submit proposals. The committee received over 200 submissions, an astonishing number for a relatively modest size building and budget. The committee chose Boston-based architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch, with the assistance of structural engineering firm Simpson Gumpertz and Heger’s (SGH) in Waltham, MA.

Two young members of the firm, Harold Hon and Son Wooten, imagined four petal-like forms of a flower growing out of the ground—symbolic of the seeds of democracy and freedom. Noted Son, “The Holocaust is a very delicate and challenging event to handle through design. We tried to look at this positively.” Said Angela Watson, a principal at Shepley Bulfinch and mentor to the young architects, “There are still so many human rights issues out there today, so the flower blossoms are representative of new life coming back when conditions are right.” ED Sharon Nichols said at the announcement, “Their design was so innovative with the petals of light that we fell in love with it. It is a building of hope and inspiration.” The cylindrical permanent exhibit space at the center of the structure is dedicated to preserving the stories of Holocaust survivors for future generations. Four light-filled, flower-like petals rise around that central focal point, reminding visitors of the rebirth of human rights, freedom, and democracy after World War II. Visitors proceed through a light-filled atrium into the classroom and round amphitheater. The building that would one day house exhibits, presentations, performances, classes, gatherings, archives, and multi-media remembrances was conceived to embodied courage and hope.

Solving structural challenges

Then the hard work began—actually building the concept. The Building Team explored many different construction options, including cast-in-place concrete, glulam wood beams, and steel. They found that cast-in-place would push the project over the $1.8 million budget cap and glulam would make the petals too thick. BIM (Building Information Modeling) helped them decide that steel framework was the most efficient and economical solution.

Steel construction enabled some portions of the building to be shop fabricated, which saved time. General contractor Wright-Ryan Construction in Portland cut construction time even more by framing large portions of the building using wide-flange non composite steel beams and columns. But it was the complex design of the steel petals that really tested the team’s mettle.

The SGH structural engineering team developed an innovative structural system that consisted of a grid of hollow structural sections using curved 8x8s as the ribs along the meridians of the spherical sections of the petals and straight 4x4s along the parallels of latitude of the pedals. The grids allowed the petals to act as shells. Three-inch-diameter structural steel columns pierced the petals and provided additional structural support. The BIM model enabled the team to check the demands and capabilities of the petals and determine the proper petal radii, which cut the cost of bending the shell steel by half. Wood-framed box beams (made of 2x4s and plywood) were incorporated into the spans between the rib framing; this allowed the four petals to be sheathed in plywood, over which the standing seam copper roof panels were installed.

A place for lasting impact

“This building is the perfect story,” said Angela Watson, a senior partner and mentor to the young architects. “It’s a unique design from a young, talented team that overcame challenges of budget, schedule, and material and created a place that will have lasting impact.” Robert Katz, an artist, sculptor, teacher, and long-time member of the HHRC, had the foresight obtain ashes from Auschwitz  to buried beneath the monument during the dedication ceremony, a powerful symbol of remembrance of innocent victims buried in front of the museum.

This building now houses significant artifacts, offers permanent exhibits that chronicle the lives of Holocaust survivors, told in their own words and photos, curates new exhibits from a wide array of sources that express truths about human rights, memory, art, courage, and hope. The center welcomes visitors year-round, as well as classes, community groups, lectures, and presentations. Theater performances take place in the amphitheater and the atrium beneath the flower petals is a light-filed place for gathering. Beyond the physical attributes, the soaring Michael Klahr Center serves as a centering place for community, a repository for stories and voices, memories, and relationships. It is the embodied place and space for work on truth, justice, and human rights. 

Article Sources

AIArchitect: Two Young SBRA Designers Win International Competition, January 2005

Modern Steel Construction: Blossoming Knowledge, January 2009

Building Design and Construction: Putting the Metal to the Petal, August 11, 2010

Boston.com News: New Maine Holocaust Center has earth from Auschwitz Camp, April, 2007

Photo credit

Harold Hon, SBRA. The structural steel frame above the classrooms on the north side of the building is erected and temporarily braces Petal 2 as it cantilevers over the permanent exhibit space.