Buildin' On Up

Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has taken another step forward to solidify their presence on the Washington Mall by selecting a design for their building. First, that is a mouthful of a name. I don't see a zippy acronym in there like MoMA, either. I suggest we just call it the Big Piece of the Pie. A collection of architects collaborated on the design. I'm just going to list them because I'm not sure of the proper credit order.

David Adjaye
Freelon Group
Davis Brody Bond
SmithGroup

If you click on the link above, you can see a visual of the museum with video clips from the designers and Lonnie Bunch, the director of the Big Piece of the Pie. I'm not in love with the design. It's a bit boring for black folk, in my opinion. We love ornamentation and we work pattern better than anyone on the planet. The bronze upper levels are supposed to be porous; therefore, people strolling the Mall should be able to see into the building and apparently, it will warmly glow at night. That last part appeals strongly to me, and I hope construction and materials will live up to the vision.


David Adjaye is African and a lauded starchitect. A previous project was Denver's Museum of Contemporary art. Adjaye has also done multiple private homes. Looking at his work, I can tell he tries to distinguish between public (transparency and invitations to enter) and private (walls, walls, walls--lookie-loos on the pavement not welcome!) space. I'm a bit surprised at this new design as it resembles his private structures more than the public ones (Google: Idea Store Adjaye). But, I'll wait to see it in person and in photos after the museum is completed. The bronze is the key. The bronze will help differentiate it from all the pale marble that dominates images of Washington D.C.'s institutions.


As for the "Corona" effect, and the upper levels resembling African sculpture--maybe. It's still too plain for me. And, it's still boxy. I don't know if you follow museums, but contemporary ones have been stuck in the "gleaming cube" rut for a while. I reside in Boston where we have a successful example of this style. I call it The Friendly Ice Cube, but it's mostly known as the Institute of Contemporary Art. It's worth a bus trip on our Sexy Silver Line, and it possesses one of the most glorious views of our harbour. The concert hall also has a wall of glass looking seaside, and it's a summery delight to listen to boundary-pushing music while watching the sun set as jets land at Logan and joggers trot past on their evening run.

ICA, Boston

The New Museum, New York

Another good example of this style would be the New Museum in New York. It's located on a street dominated by lighting shops and purveyors of kitchen equipment. Almost the entire building is wrapped in latticework that seems a tip of the hat to the ingenious fry-o-lators on sale next door. It's so L.E.S. And, the gorgeous view of the city on the roof doesn't hurt either. A bad example of the "gleaming cube" is the Bronx Museum.


While the cheeky New Museum fits in with its neighbors, the Bronx Museum does not. It looks like a sleek fortress from the street. Expanses of untouched metal siding must scream out to taggers to eff that sh*# up. If the museum trustees actually let that go down and offered up their pristine temple for some graffiti glory, I'd give them more marks. Instead, it looks like a group of Manhattan elitists took a giant aluminum poop on the sidewalk.


Ultimately, the building that will house the Big Piece of the Pie isn't strictly a cube, and probably won't gleam. The design doesn't exactly shatter the mold though. I still think some use of repetitive shapes would have been nice. African weavers can rock the house, so there's a wealth of inspiration from which to draw. I can't wait to see the building in person.

Kuba cloth, from the W. Norton Grubb Collection