A collaborative museum design
The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on Washington’s National Mall in 2016. Its design emerged from the Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup collaboration, rather than the work of a single architect. The building places museum spaces both above and below ground.
A patterned outer layer
Its three-tiered outer form draws on a Yoruba crown. The patterned screen references historic ironwork in African American communities in Charleston and New Orleans. The proposed bronze screen changed during development to a bronze-coloured aluminium system, making material and finish part of the project’s design history.
What to examine
Study the screen from outside and from the galleries, then trace the transition into the lower exhibition levels. These encounters connect symbolism with light, orientation and movement. Comparing the proposal with the completed building also makes a documented trade-off visible: a material can change while a design team seeks to retain its intended visual presence. The museum rewards attention to those decisions alongside its cultural significance.