National Museum of African American History and Culture by David Adjaye

To represent the past, present and future of a people is a role entrusted to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Without a building, the museum has existed through travelling exhibitions since 2003, but an important milestone has finally been reached with the announcement of a winning design. Where cities have fallen victim to haughty structures that lack contextual integrity, Washington, D.C. will welcome its forthcoming landmark which successfully takes familiar materials and points them in a new direction. Taking residence on the National Mall, the new museum doesn't aim to be monumental, but it does aim to signify the monumental journey of the people to whom it is dedicated.

The decision to erect the museum didn't come easily. Efforts to build a national museum that recognised African American history date back to the early 1900s, but they were met with intense political opposition well into the 1990s. Dissent from the powers that be lasted decades, and in 1944 Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina, blocked the Senate from passing a bill to authorise the museum, saying that Congress shouldn't have to "pony up" for a project of this kind. It took then President George W. Bush to approve the museum in 2003.

Established that year by an Act of Congress, the National Museum of African American History and Culture marked the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. An advisory council was also established as part of this legislation, whose role is to advise Smithsonian Regents on the planning, design, construction and administration of the museum, as well as the acquisition of objects for its collection. The 19-member council is made up of prominent figures including Richard D. Parsons, former chairman of the board of Time Warner Inc. and current chairman of Citigroup; Linda Johnson Rice, president and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Company Inc.; Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television; and Oprah Winfrey. In January 2006 the Smithsonian Board of Regents – the governing body of the Smithsonian – and members of the advisory council voted to build the museum on a 5-acre site on the National Mall, on Constitution Avenue between the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

The location of the museum is as significant as the decision to build it. So important in fact, that Robert L. Johnson threatened to stand down from the advisory council if the Smithsonian's board chose a site off the National Mall. He said "to have relegated this museum to another site, when people are looking to it to answer everything from the need for an apology for slavery to reparations, would have been the ultimate dismissal". Now, with developments underway, the museum comes at a time when its nearby resident has written himself into the history of the people it addresses.

To get the ball rolling, in July 2008, the Smithsonian issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to architectural firms, inviting them to submit their professional qualifications to design the museum. Made up of architects, engineers and museum professionals, the Smithsonian formed an evaluation board to narrow down the submissions, and by the end of January this year, six firms (selected from a pool of 22 that responded to the RFQ) were selected to compete in a 2-month design competition. From there the process was turned over to a design competition board that reviewed and ranked the six finalists' concepts with the highest ranked asked to submit a formal proposal. The brief was direct but not restrictive, and certain criteria had to be met. The museum is to be built in three years, with construction beginning in 2012, and 2015 marking the opening; the structure has to be energy efficient in order to become the Smithsonian's first museum to receive a LEED rating from the US Green Building Council, making it the first officially green building on the National Mall; and naturally, it must express a solid appreciation for African American history and culture.

On April 14, Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup were announced as the winners, knocking out luminaries of the field like Pritzker Prize winners I.M. Pei and Norman Foster. Coming together for the design and delivery of what is likely to be the Mall's last museum, the formidable team is comprised of four architectural firms: the Freelon Group, David Brody Bond, SmithGroup and Adjaye Associates. Principal of the latter, Tanzanian born British architect David Adjaye will act as lead designer. A rising star in the industry, he is known for his eclectic designs for the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo and Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art. With a number of arts and cultural buildings under his belt, Adjaye is no stranger to creating the kind of building that serves as a community's social glue.

Of their design concept, the team said the new structure will embody the African American spirit: "majestic yet exuberant, dignified yet triumphant", and added that "the building will be worthy of the museum's vision, and its prominent place on the National Mall". To be worthy of its location, the building has to embrace a style that is at once contemporary and yet respectful to its surroundings. Adjaye's design blends ziggurat-like forms inspired by West African sculpture with the typical tripartite base-shaft-capital arrangement of Classical columns. This combination of styles marks a clear break with traditional monumental architecture that floods D.C., and celebrates African American identity as an evolving culture. The references to 19th- and early 20th-century tribal Yoruban sculpture exist to broaden the narrative of the city's Neoclassical architecture that stands to represent only part of America's history.

Adjaye's building is square and held by four columns; it features a glass façade that is part of a stone base containing the first two levels of the museum. In an inversion of the traditional grand staircase, the ground floor slopes down from the Mall in an open invitation to the public. This section of the museum is intended as a gathering place and reflects Adjaye's desire to create a public space, as opposed to a public building. But the museum's most salient feature sits atop this base. Two trapezoidal superstructures rest on top, stacked in a formation reminiscent of traditional African headdresses and forming what Adjaye calls a "celebration crown". The volumes, which will house most of the exhibition spaces, are enclosed in glass but covered in diaphanous perforated bronze screens. The porous screens will filter uneven patterns of light into the museum, as well as make for an interesting façade that will subtly change colour according to the time of day. As well as provide views through the punctured façade, the museum will feature large windows that angle out toward views of its monumental neighbours.

The museum's director, Lonnie G. Bunch, requested a structure that expressed optimism and joy, as well as the "dark corners" of the African American narrative, in line with the museum's mission to tell the tale of the African Americans from their origins through slavery and emancipation and into the 21st century. Taking this into careful consideration, Adjaye contrasts the crown-like structure – a clear symbol of triumph – and integrates more poignant visual references. The central hall of the lobby will be covered in large wooden slats suspended from the ceiling creating a cloud-like form symbolic of oppression.

Adjaye's museum then won't rely on its exhibitions alone to express the story of the African Americans; metaphoric forms and a fusion of architectural styles do the trick. An important addition to the nation's capital, this museum is vital not just because it holds immense significance for African Americans, but because the tale it tells reveals an essential component of US history. +