160: Steel-glass System | Pritzker Military Museum and Library

In this episode, Cherise is joined by Philip Castillo, FAIA, Managing Director at Jahn, with offices worldwide, and Benjamin Skelton, President of Cyclone Energy Group. They discuss the Pritzker Military Museum And Library in Somers, Wisconsin.

Designed by Jahn, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Somers, Wisconsin, is a purpose-built facility that brings together precision, functionality, and public engagement in a single, cohesive environment. A disciplined 36-foot structural grid organizes the building, utilizing an exposed, steel-glass system that creates a tight envelope, preserving the thermal stability required for long-term collection care.

Philip Castillo, Managing Director, Jahn

Philip Castillo, FAIA, has over 40 years of experience leading complex and diverse architectural projects around the world.

As Managing Director at Jahn, he oversees all aspects of design, planning, management, and systems integration, ensuring the original intent carries through every stage.

His portfolio includes global landmarks such as Sony Center Berlin, Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Tokyo Station Yaesu Development, and 1000M in Chicago, alongside innovative smaller-scale works like the Harold and Margo Schiff Residences and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library.

A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects since 2010, Castillo combines technical rigor with design clarity - a perspective shaped by his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology and his decades-long tenure with Jahn since 1978.

Benjamin Skelton, President, Cyclone Energy Group

Benjamin is the founder of Cyclone Energy Group, a Chicago-based firm dedicated to optimizing building performance. Since starting the firm in 2012, his team has gained international recognition for bridging the gap between design, construction, and operations on landmark projects.

Benjaminâs award-winning portfolio involves driving decarbonization in existing buildings, enhancing the efficiency of everyday facilities, and helping design pioneering high-rises and net-positive projects.

Project Name and Location: Pritzker Military Museum And Library; Somers, Wisconsin

Located in Somers, Wisconsin, the Pritzker Military Archives Center by Jahn expands the mission of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library with a 48,400-square-foot facility that balances precision, functionality, and public engagement.

The building houses 15,000 square feet of below-grade archival storage, alongside exhibition and research areas that invite visitors to connect with the preservation of military history. Conceived as both a cultural landmark and a working archive, its design reveals the processes of collection and curation through carefully framed views and transparent interior partitions.

What sets the project apart is its synthesis of structural clarity, environmental responsibility, and architectural expression.

The exposed steel trusses and modular 36-foot grid merge form and function, while a patterned glass facade reflects the logic of the structure itself.

Set within a 17.5-acre site, the building occupies less than four percent of the land, preserving adjacent wetlands and integrating sustainable systems such as rainwater harvesting and on-site solar generation.

A dramatic cantilevered roof extends over the entry and outdoor exhibit space, creating a bold, open gesture that both anchors the building in its landscape and embodies the strength and transparency central to its mission.

Awards

• 2023 ENR Midwest "Cultural Best Project Award"


• 2024 ACEC Honor Award for Building/Technology Systems


• 2024 ACEC Judges' Choice Award for Building/Technology Systems


• 2024 Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award


• 2024 Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, Landscaping


• 2024 AIA Chicago Divine Detail Award


• 2024 ASLA Presidentâs Award


• 2024 ASLA Honor Award


• 2024 ASLA Honor Award, General Design


• 2025 Gold Winner, Global Future Design Awards


• 2025 World Architecture Festival Completed Buildings, Culture Finalist


• 2025 World Architecture Festival The American Beauty Prize Finalist

Project Team:

• Owner: Pritzker Military Museum And Library


• Architect: Jahn


• Landscape Architect: O2 Design


• Civil Consultant: Terra Engineering


• Structural Consultant: WSP


• MEP/FP Consultant: Cosentini


• Energy/Comfort Consultant: Cyclone Energy Group


• Lighting Consultant: RBLDI


• General Contractor: Pepper-Riley Construction

Unique Products:

• Facade: Glass Solutions Inc


• Glass: Viracon


• Landscape: Breezy Hill

Photo Credit (Name): Tom Rossiter

Podcast Production: Gabl Media Group Inc.