The estimated $60 million (£37.54 million/€47.74 million) Museum will be the only comprehensive Olympic and Paralympic Museum in the United States.

It will serve as a pilgrimage site containing the artifacts, media, technology, and the myriad stories behind the dedicated American athletes who follow their dreams, while showcasing the historical power and national pride surrounding the Olympic Games.

"Our Olympic and Paralympic athletes set the highest standards of achievement," said Richard Celeste, President of the US Olympic Museum Board.

"We believe we have assembled a world-class team to honour these athletes with a building and experience that captures the spirit of, and honours, those achievements."

The team includes Anderson Mason Dale Architects of Denver who will serve as the Architect of Record; Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, a world-renowned New York design studio, as the Design Architects; Gallagher and Associates from Washington, D.C as Exhibit Designers; Pacific Studio of Portland, Oregon, to be the Exhibit Fabricators; and GE Johnson, of Colorado Springs, as the General Contractor.

Following the announcement, Liz Diller, the lead designer for Diller, Scofidio + Renfro said: "It's a rare opportunity to be part of a team that will bring the stories of US Olympians and the Olympic movement to the public in a building structure.

"The challenge for the architecture will be to embody the elegance of form, dynamism, and strength so characteristic of the athlete, and the appearance of effortlessness and without an ounce of fat!"

The team chosen to design and construct the United States Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame is world renowned with Diller Scofidio Renfro known for its work on the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Redevelopment in New York, including the redesign of Alice Tully Hall ©Getty Images



Jim Johnson, chief executive of GE Johnson, added: "GE Johnson Construction Company is honoured to be selected as the Construction Manager/General Contractor for the United States Olympic Museum Project.

"Headquartered in Colorado Springs, GE Johnson Construction has constructed numerous projects in the region that include private and public money.

"However, the significance of a one-of-a-kind structure such as in the United States Olympic Museum increases the visibility and accountability from the donors, current athletes, past athletes and future athletes and visitors."

These world-renowned firms responded to the request for proposals and request for quotations posted by the United States Olympic Museum in March 2014.

The Museum selected finalists for interviews from hundreds of local and national firms.

A blue-ribbon panel consisting of local architects, US Olympic Museum Board members, Colorado Springs civic leaders, philanthropists, and design and construction professionals interviewed the candidates.

The Olympic Museum's team was also enhanced by Barrie Projects, a museum and cultural planning firm helmed by Kathleen and Dennis Barrie that has been a consultant to the Museum and collaborator on its initial feasibility study.

Barrie Projects has created museums dedicated to the history of rock 'n' roll, international spying, and organised crime.

Working with Barrie Projects is Michael Devine, with expertise in business planning for museums and other cultural ventures.

Members of the team are in Colorado Springs for two days of intense work to kick off the project design process.

The target date for the opening of the Museum and Hall of Fame is early 2018, prior to that year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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