here - Design of the NMAAHC

National Museum of
African American History and Culture
“The National Museum of
African American History and Culture
should be a beacon that reminds us
what we were, what challenges we
face, and what we can become.”
Excerpt from the NMAAHC Mission and Vision Statement
The Museum threshold experience begins with grand porch at the South (National Mall) entry point
The Museum
When completed next year, the Smithsonian
Institution’s National Museum of African American
History and Culture (NMAAHC) will be the nation’s
primary home for exhibiting and celebrating
African American achievements in art, history, and
culture. Rising on the last available building site on
the National Mall, the museum will be a centerpiece
venue for ceremonies, performances, art exhibits,
and public gatherings by visitors from all
over the world.
Project Facts
Detail of bronze-colored lattice panels
The museum is one of the largest and most
complex building projects underway in the
The exterior panels that form the museum’s corona
country, in large part because of the challenges of
evoke the ornate ironwork designs still visible in
constructing 60% of the structure below ground
Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA and New Orleans, LA.
within a tidal basin.
Yoruban Caryatid
The design team studied this historic iron lattice
The museum will be the most sustainable
work, in many cases created by enslaved Africans,
Smithsonian museum ever built, on track to achieve
and created the light-permeable façade of the
LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green
museum by digitizing the traditional shapes and
Building Council.
transposing them into a modern interpretation
The bronze-colored cast aluminum corona, which
scalable to the size and shape of the museum.
creates the museum’s distinctive form, draws on
Inside the building, the corona forms a perimeter
familiar imagery from both African and American
zone that surrounds the primary galleries. Abundant
history. The three-tiered shape is inspired by the
daylight enters this zone through patterned openings
Yoruban Caryatid, a traditional wooden column which
in the cladding and through skylights.
features a crown or corona at its top.
THE DESIGN TEAM
The Freelon Group leads the design
team as Architect of Record, and has
contractual responsibility for overseeing
the project from start to finish. The
Freelon Group manages a team of 32
consultants, including the three other
architecture firms that make
up the design team, ensuring the
design adheres to the Smithsonian’s
program and vision.
Adjaye Associates leads the building
design, working with the other three
architectural partners to develop and
refine the building to comply with the
design intent and to meet the needs of
the client and stakeholders.
Davis Brody Bond provides additional
design depth for this complex project,
drawing on their experience with
designing large museums and other
cultural projects. David Brody Bond is
responsible for developing the belowgrade areas of the Museum.
SmithGroup provides construction
documentation of the exterior envelope
and is part of the on-site construction
administration team.
Reaching toward the sky, the bronze clad corona expresses faith, hope and resiliency. (Construction photo, July 2015)
At night, the corona will glow from within, presenting
stunning views of the museum from a variety of
vantage points in and around the National Mall.
The building form and materiality are intended to
express faith, hope, and resilience.
Smithsonian curators have located and stored more
than 33,000 artifacts for the exhibits. The museum
will showcase both the historic milestones of African
American history and the everyday achievements of
Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool,
during the 1963 March on Washington
(Photo Wikipedia Commons)
individuals who have contributed to shaping American
culture.
The Design Team:
Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup
Phil Freelon vividly recalls coming of age in
the 1960s at the height of the civil rights
movement. “I remember how nervous my whole family
was when my father went to join the March
Philip Freelon, lead architect of the National Museum of African
American History and Culture, describes how light will travel through
the museum (Brett Carlsen/AP Photo)
team known as Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup,
which includes Freelon himself as lead architect,
David Adjaye of Adjaye Associates (London),
Davis Brody Bond (New York City), and
SmithGroup (Washington, DC).
on Washington,” he said. “And I remember how
The story of the design team behind the NMAAHC
excited I was when he came back and told me all
began shortly after the selection of the site on the
about hearing Dr. King’s speech.”
National Mall. In 2006, the Smithsonian selected
Today, less than a mile from where his father stood
on the National Mall to hear King’s “I Have a Dream”
speech, is the bustling site of the National Museum
of African American History and Culture. It’s a project
Freelon/Bond, a collaboration between prominent
African American architects Phil Freelon and Max
Bond, to complete the museum’s Phase 1 planning
and pre-design work.
that Freelon—now Managing Director and Design
The teaming of Freelon and Bond ensured that the
Director of the North Carolina practice of global
programming and initial design framework—both
architecture and design firm Perkins+Will—proudly
critical to the success of the project—were grounded
oversees. He directs a four-firm design
in experience and a strong cultural perspective.
Contemplative Court
SUSTAINABILITY
The Museum will be the most
sustainable national museum ever built.
Some features include:
• Climate-responsive form
• Roof garden to help with
storm water management
• Energy performance complying
with the Energy Independence and
Security Act 2007 (EISA 2007).
Freelon Bond Team:
Freelon Adjaye Bond SmithGroup Team:
The late Max Bond and Phil Freelon
(pictured above) Phil Freelon, Hal Davis, David Adjaye and Peter Cook, 2009
• Ground source heat pumps
• Thermal zones in the building based
Following the successful completion of Phase I
of six finalists selected to present design proposals
• Rainwater harvest for irrigation
in 2008, the Museum Council sponsored an
to the Smithsonian, ultimately winning the design
• Maximize day lighting and
international design competition. Lonnie G.
competition in April of 2009.
on different spatial needs.
reduce energy costs
• Water efficient fixtures
• Water harvesting system for
irrigation and flushing fixtures.
• 30% energy reduction from
established baselines (ASHRAE).
• Full commissioning of the building
to measure and verify compliance.
• Construction waste management
• Use of recycled and recyclable materials
• Use of regional materials
(500 mile radius)
• Use of wood and wood based
Bunch III, the museum’s founding director, headed
the competition selection committee. This ninemember group included notables in the design
community such as Linda Johnson Rice (co-chair
of the Museum Council and Chairman of Johnson
Publishing Company Inc.), Robert Kogod (member
of Smithsonian Board of Regents and president of
Charles E. Smith Management LLC), and Robert
Campbell (architecture critic, Boston Globe).
“Over the last six years since our selection as the
architects, the team has worked with the Smithsonian
Institution to develop and refine the competition
winning design concept,” said Phil Freelon. “We
have been able to apply our decades of experience
working for cultural institutions across the country.
The opportunity to work on a project of such historical
significance in our nation’s capital has certainly been
an honor. What has emerged is an even more powerful
At that time, London-based architect Adjaye
rendition of the original idea. It is gratifying to see the
• Monitoring of carbon dioxide
Associates (led by David Adjaye) and Washington D.C.
vison of the museum finally come into reality.”
• Flush-out after construction
based SmithGroup (led by Hal Davis) joined Freelon/
• Daylight for 50% of the operational
Bond1 (Bond later led by Peter Cook
materials that are FSC CO
hours throughout the year
• 75% daylight all staff spaces
and Rob Anderson). The resulting design team,
The NMAAHC is slated to open to the public in the
Fall of 2016.
Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup (FAB/S), was one
1
Sadly, Max Bond passed away during the competition period, a deep loss for his friends and colleagues.
View from North towards oculus
CONSTRUCTION FACTS
Size 397,000 SF on 10 levels (5 above
and 5 below ground)
Cost $385 million cost of construction
Anticipated Attendance 3 million
annually
Volume of dirt excavated 350,000 cubic
yards of dirt was excavated and hauled
from the site
Height of Corona is 85 FT
Angle of the Corona 17.4 degree angle of
the Corona matches the cap angle of the
Washington Monument
Larger artifacts being installed during construction
Number of panels used for the Corona
is 3,600
Amount of concrete used is 72,000
cubic yards
Construction Site
Installation of bronze-colored panels of the Corona
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michael Reilly, Reilly Communications
MReilly@reillycommunications.com
617.464.1717
Rachel Rose, Perkins+Will
Rachel.Rose@perkinswill.com
212.251.7060
Fleur Paysour, Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of African American History & Culture
PaysourF@si.edu
202.633.4761