The long-awaited National Museum of African American History and Culture took an important step forward yesterday with the selection of an architectural and design team.
The Smithsonian, which is overseeing the $500 million project on the Mall, chose Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup as the firm that will design the signature building across the street from the Washington Monument.
"Their vision and spirit of collaboration moved all members of the design competition jury," said the museum's founding director, Lonnie G. Bunch III. "I am confident that they will give us a building that will be an important addition to the National Mall and to the architecture of the city."
The museum's mission is to tell the African American story from the African origins, through slavery and emancipation, to politics, music, sports and spirituality. Its five-acre setting at Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th streets NW makes it most likely the last major structure built along the historic Mall. The museum is expected to be completed in 2015.