Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture

The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established on December 19, 2003, when President Bush signed into law legislation establishing the Museum as part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is the first national museum to be devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life. The legislation directs the Smithsonian Board of Regents, the governing body of the Institution, to build the museum and provides that decisions with respect to the Museum's location and design rest with the Regents. On January 30, 2006, the Regents selected a five-acre site adjacent to the Washington Monument, bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, and 14th and 15th streets N.W., to serve as the location for the new Museum.

The Smithsonian's next step, in conjunction with the National Capital Planning Commission, was to prepare a National Environmental Policy Act environmental impact statement to determine important environmental concerns and to develop historic preservation and archaeological study reports in keeping with the National Historic Preservation Act. The process, which began in September 2006, is near completion. The Tier I Final EIS is now available on the NEPA/NHPA project website. For updates on this process please go to http://www.louisberger-nmaahceis.com/index.htm.

The Institution began the architectural programming phase in October 2007. The architectural programming phase provides research and decision-making on the scope of the Museum. Space and systems requirements for the major physical components of the Museum are determined in this phase—such as the size of the auditorium, exhibit space, and offices, as well as the energy usage requirements.

The Institution initiated the architectural design process—the next critical phase in the building of the Museum on July 10, 2008 when it issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to architectural firms inviting them to submit professional qualifications to design the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Institution voluntarily followed the guidelines of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). When issuing contracts that use Federal appropriations, the Smithsonian's Office of Contracting engages in an open and competitive contracting process which is virtually identical to that found in the FAR.

The Smithsonian posted the RFQ on fedbizzopps.gov, the federal business opportunities website, and advertised nationally using methods designed to reach the greatest number of firms. Additionally, the Smithsonian performed outreach initiatives to attract bids from minority architectural firms.

In January 2009 an evaluation board narrowed the field of applicants to six firms and turned the process over to a design competition board, which included outside experts and Smithsonian professionals. The design competition board reviewed the finalists’ concept designs and presentations and the highest-ranked firm was asked to submit a formal proposal and subsequently will begin contract negotiations with the Smithsonian.

The architectural team Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup was selected and announced at a press conference at the Smithsonian Castle on April 14, 2009. They were among six architectural firms that entered the design competition in January 2009 from a total of 22 firms that responded to a Request for Qualifications issued during the summer of 2008. The selection was made by a jury chaired by Museum Director Lonnie G. Bunch III.

The building design will take up to three years to complete, with construction set to begin in 2012. For information on minority contracting, please visit the Smithsonian Supplier Diversity Program Web site: http://www.si.edu/oeema/index2.htm.