The Smithsonian National Museum
of African American History & Culture
Washington, DC

400,000 SF • LEED® GOLD CERTIFICATION

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) commemorates the black community and the impact African Americans have had on the United States and the world. It operates simultaneously as a museum, a memorial, and a space for cross-cultural collaboration and learning. Beginning in 2008, Davis Brody Bond, in association with The Freelon Group, developed pre-design and programming documents for the museum prior to being part of the design team.

As part of the Freelon Adjaye Bond / Smithgroup team, Davis Brody Bond collaborated on the design. The museum rethinks the role of civic institutions in the 21st century, offering new modes of user experience and engagement. It presents a new form of museum: one that prioritizes cultural narrative and identity and that gives form to untold stories, establishing an empowering emotional context for positive social change. The design approach to the NMAAHC establishes both a meaningful relationship to its unique site on the National Mall and a strong conceptual resonance with America’s deep and longstanding African heritage. The design itself rests on four cornerstones: the Corona shape and form of the building; the bronze filigree Screen; the Lenses framing views through the envelope; and the extension of the building out into the landscape via the Porch.

During the design process, the building’s massing was refined to reduce the above-grade bulk placing two thirds of the building’s 400,000 sf program below grade. The stacking of the building placed much of the non-daylit spaces 80 feet below, including the centerpiece of the museum, the 50,000 sf main history gallery. The museum’s bottom to top gallery relationship provides visitors a chronological experience of past, present, and future as one ascends through the structure. Veiled by the exterior Corona, above grade circulation is placed within a seven story atrium to promote views of Washington DC monuments while contextually anchoring the museum within the greenspace of the National Mall.

Our scope in the design phases comprised over 60% of the museum including the changing exhibition gallery, café, curatorial departments, collections and back-of-house spaces that form the operating core of the museum, and the 350-seat concert-class Oprah Winfrey Theater. We were also responsible for designing NMAAHC’s centerpiece 50,000 sf History Gallery and accompanying Contemplative Court. During Construction Administration, our team led the efforts for all below-grade interior architecture. Additionally, all mechanical, operational, plant, collections, foodservice, theatrical, and security services were included within this scope.