Aerial of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, April 13, 2016. Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 2/13/17

National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)
Washington, D.C., USA
5,800 sq. ft. Extensive Greenroof & approximately 5,500 sq. ft. Intensive Over Structure Greenroof

NOTE: In celebration of Black (African-American) History Month, we are very pleased to showcase the NMAAHC.

Project of the Week Mini Description & Details

Situated on five acres on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the $540 million National Museum of African American History and Culture seeks to understand American history through the lens of the African American experience. The Smithsonian’s first LEED Gold project, it was first proposed by black Civil War veterans 102 years ago and after much debate and opposition from legislators, the museum was finally approved by an Act of Congress.

Championed by deceased Republican U.S. Senator Sam Brownback and Democrat Georgia Representative and civil rights campaigner John Lewis, it opened on September 24, 2016. President Obama dedicated the museum and Representative Lewis called it a place that celebrated “the dignity of the dispossessed.” The interior is composed of five large gallery spaces containing over 35,000 artifacts related to African American history, community, and culture, and covers slavery, civil rights, sports, historic black communities, music, visual arts, and more.

NMAAHC inauguration day with President Obama dedicating the museum under The Porch. Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

Designed by Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup, the 420,000 square foot building has a three-tiered shape and is inspired by the Yoruban Caryatid, a traditional wooden column which features a crown or corona at its top. Reaching toward the sky, the bronze-colored filigree corona expresses faith, hope and resiliency. Below, visitors enter through a grand “porch” at the south side. The Porch is an outdoor welcome area and the 175-foot-long steel and concrete canopy shades visitors with its upward tilt.

An extensive greenroof planted with pre-vegetated sedum mats from Moerings USA/Sempergreen covers the porch’s overhang. Much of the north lawn is a large intensive greenroof which covers the galleries below and the glass oculus that juts up from the grounds to help illuminate the underground portions. At night, the corona glows, presenting stunning views of the museum from a variety of vantage points in and around the Mall. The location and design of the National Museum of African American History and Culture represent the past, present, and future of the African American experience in ways that are both tangible and symbolic.

The oculus as seen from the interior. Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

The NMAAHC intensive over structure greenroof on the north side with the glass oculus peeping through. Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

Year: 2016
Owner: Smithsonian Institution
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Building Type: Museum
Type: Extensive & Intensive, Test/Research
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 11300 sq.ft. total approximately
Slope: 1% – 4%
Access: Extensive Greenroof is Inaccessible & Intensive Greenroof is Accessible, Open to Public

The Washington Memorial as seen from the Porch greenroof. Photo courtesy of Moerings USA / Sempergreen.

The filigree allows filtered light to illuminate the space. Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

General Contractor: Clark/Smoot/Consigli Construction
Architect of Record: The Freelon Group
Architect: Adjaye Associates
Lead Designer: David Adjaye
Architect: Smith Group JJR
Landscape Architect: GGN – Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd
Architect: Davis Brody Bond
Greenroof System Manufacturer: Henry Company
Extensive Greenroof Vegetation Supplier: Moerings USA/Sempergreen
Engineered Soil & Irrigation: Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company
Porch Engineers: Guy Nordenson and Associates
Exhibit Design: Ralph Appelbaum Associates

Construction of The Porch’s extensive greenroof, laying the pre-vegetated sedum mats, above, and the finished living roof, below, already drawing interest from local wildlife. Photo: Moerings USA / Sempergreen.

View the National Museum of African American History and Culture PROJECT PROFILE to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture. Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the National Museum of African American History and Culture Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week 2/13/17 video photos courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Photo credits: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC except for Hand-painted banner for Obama presidential campaign 2008, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Elizabeth Hess; Moerings USA/Sempergreen and Aerial of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, April 29, 2016, photo by Anthony Lyons, courtesy of Moerings USA/Sempergreen; Exterior of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, July 20, 2016 by Fuzheado – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, on Wikimedia and U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Musician’s Mate Stephen Hassay/Released by Official Navy Page from United States of America MUC Stephen Hassay/U.S. Navy, content in the public domain on Wikimedia.

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