Home
Politics
The museum was established by an act of Congress in 2003 and construction, expected to last up to three years, is scheduled to begin in 2012.
The winning design is a cube-shaped, six-level building with a stone-clad base topped by a bronze-covered "corona," consisting of bronze-tinted glass, whose shape was inspired by the crown of an African king's headdress.
"The National Museum of African American History and Culture -- the institution and the building -- embodies the African American spirit," Freelon Adjaye Bond said in its design concept materials.
"Majestic yet exuberant, dignified yet triumphant, the building will be worthy of the museum's vision, and its prominent place on the National Mall."
The project's lead designer David Adjaye is known for his work with the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, Colorado.
Davis Brody Bond, also from the same architectural team, is helping plan and design the September 11 memorial and museum at the former World Trade Center in New York.
The SmithGroup designed the Normandy American Cemetery Interpretive Center in France.
Although it has not yet been built, the African American History Museum has already collected artifacts and created traveling exhibitions. It plans on ultimately attracting an expected 2.5 million visitors per year.
Planned exhibits include parts of a slave ship and a hut used as slave quarters, a Tennessee cablecar with segregated compartments and a "Tuskegee Airmen" plane that escorted US bombers over Europe during World War II, museum curator Lonnie Bunch told AFP.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The winning design is a cube-shaped, six-level building with a stone-clad base topped by a bronze-covered "corona," consisting of bronze-tinted glass, whose shape was inspired by the crown of an African king's headdress.
"The National Museum of African American History and Culture -- the institution and the building -- embodies the African American spirit," Freelon Adjaye Bond said in its design concept materials.
"Majestic yet exuberant, dignified yet triumphant, the building will be worthy of the museum's vision, and its prominent place on the National Mall."
The project's lead designer David Adjaye is known for his work with the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, Colorado.
Davis Brody Bond, also from the same architectural team, is helping plan and design the September 11 memorial and museum at the former World Trade Center in New York.
The SmithGroup designed the Normandy American Cemetery Interpretive Center in France.
Although it has not yet been built, the African American History Museum has already collected artifacts and created traveling exhibitions. It plans on ultimately attracting an expected 2.5 million visitors per year.
Planned exhibits include parts of a slave ship and a hut used as slave quarters, a Tennessee cablecar with segregated compartments and a "Tuskegee Airmen" plane that escorted US bombers over Europe during World War II, museum curator Lonnie Bunch told AFP.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
