In what’s likely the final piece of the ongoing American mosaic that is the National Mall , the Smithsonian has chosen six teams of architects to compete for the design of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture . The final winner will be announced in April. All teams have a minority principal and four firms are members of the National Organization of Minority Architects. The teams, with a few exceptions, follow a common formula: world famous top-shelf designers with nationally well-known minority-owned firms.
The teams are:
--Pei Cobb Freed with Devrouax & Purnell
-- Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with KlingStubbins
-- Foster + Partners and engineering/infrastructure firm URS
-- Freelon Adjaye Bond in association with SmithGroup
-- Antoine Predock, FAIA, and Moody Nolan Inc.
-- Moshe Safdie , FAIA, with Sultan Campbell Britt & Associates
Some of the collaborations are joint ventures, and others are more traditional design architect/architect of record arrangements. The museum is expected to be 300,000 to 350,000 square feet and will be located on a site just northeast of the Washington Monument. The final design will be LEED certified--the first such building on the National Mall. The federal government is paying for half of its $500 million price tag. The museum is slated to begin construction in 2012 and be complete 2015.
By offering a public competition stocked with experienced minority and African-American architects, it appears that the Smithsonian is carefully trying to avoid the cultural ownership controversies they and other organizations have dealt with in past projects, like the National Museum of the American Indian and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial statue.
But putting this building in the ground without a whiff of controversy seems fairly unlikely. Several of the “headlining” architects are British (minority or not), and the issue of who takes primary design credit is going to be especially sensitive. Presumably, these minority-owned firms have been included because of their design capabilities and cultural insights; not as blithely inclusionary marketing.
Many of the firms have extensive experience building in Washington and with the Smithsonian, (Foster + Partners, Pei Cobb Freed). David Adjaye, Hon. FAIA, just landed jobs designing two libraries in Washington.
All will be revealed in April when, according to the Associated Press, the Smithsonian will seek public comment for a museum design competition for the first time ever.
Comments (4)
so informative, thanks to tell us.
Posted by Guirequarfdaf | September 29, 2010 6:59 PM
Posted on September 29, 2010 18:59
Does this mean that, when completed, they're going to yank all the African-American stuff out of the National Museum of American History? Are they then going to rename it the National Museum of Non-African American, Non-American Indian History?
Just wondering.
Posted by Dave | April 17, 2009 2:25 PM
Posted on April 17, 2009 14:25
The struggle for freedom should not be color coded. Black men and women have fought for freedom, their history has been suppressed and separated from the mainstream of American history.
Apartheid was a social policy that involved political, economic and legal discrimination against people who were not white. From 1948-1991, the white minority of South Africa used force to oppress the black majority by forcing them into segregated homelands and denying them equality.
The USA also practiced apartheid, not just in the southern states but in many states. Apartheid extended to the history books used in the public school systems across the U.S. There was no mention of black history in them. The 1964 Civil Rights act followed a long and difficult journey of black Americans in the US. Since then much solidarity has been achieved but much abides. That includes considerable history not found in the text books.
If the museum is to be built to set forth the history of black Americans, let it be done in the spirit of healing this great nation and as an enduring monument to freedom. Symbol is embodied in it's most enduring form in architecture. Not only is the museum warranted by history it is necessary to sustain our future as the beacon of hope to all those who struggle for equality.
Posted by Terry L. Walker, AIA | February 6, 2009 12:30 PM
Posted on February 6, 2009 12:30
Shouldn't the monument be the 'Museum of American Culture'? I don't understand why the museum would concentrate on only a portion of what makes up the culture of America. What about all the other cultures that make up the Great Melting Pot.
Posted by Tom Pendery | February 6, 2009 10:38 AM
Posted on February 6, 2009 10:38