Come 2015, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will be standing on the National Mall, 800 feet away from the National Monument. What exactly will be standing in that space, hasn't been decided. But The New York Times' Arts Beat blog says, six architectural teams will be duking it out for the final design.
The Smithsonian made the announcement Thursday, declaring that the candidates will be working in paired teams to develop the designs — architectural and engineering — for the 300,000 - 350,000 sq. ft museum. The teams were selected from a pool of 22 candidates and the Washington Post notes that each of the six candidates will receive a $50,000 stipend.
The catch? The winning design has to meet a 3-year construction deadline. Construction is slate to begin in 2012, just in time for Obama's second term. And The Buzz can hardly wait…