Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, 2017

Sir David Adjaye RA (b. 1966)

RA Collection: Art

This print shows Sir David Adjaye's design for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, USA.

Adjaye Associates won the competition to design the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2009 and it was opened in 2016, winning the Beazley Design of the Year award the following year. Located on Constitution Avenue, adjacent to the National Museum of American History and the Washington Monument, the building is intended to resonate with America's longstanding African heritage while acknowledging its unique site on Washington's National Mall.

The building houses galleries, office space, theatre space, as well as collection storage for the NMAAHC. This design - known as an exploded axonometric view - shows how the different parts of the building fit together. It highlights the design's layered structure which derives from the motif of three-tiered crowns in Yoruban art from West Africa while the angles of each layer match that of the capstone of the nearby Washington Monument. The metal lattice enveloping the building pays homage to the intricate ironwork produced by enslaved African Americans in Louisiana and other states.

According to Adjaye Associates' website, the architect's approach 'was to establish both a meaningful relationship to the unique site and a strong conceptual resonance with America’s deep and longstanding African heritage. The design rests on three cornerstones: the “corona” shape and form of the building; the extension of the building out into the landscape – the porch; and the bronze filigree envelope.'

Further reading:

https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2016.41.2?destination=edan-search/collection_search%3Fedan_local%3D1%26edan_q%3Dadjaye

https://www.adjaye.com/work/smithsonian-national-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture-nmaahc/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/q-and-a-with-architect-david-adjaye-18968512/