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rt. ArchDC Spring 2017.qxp_Spring 2017 2/22/17 2:47 PM Page 23 Photo © Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC

so the architects settled on a bronze-colored cast aluminum instead. And while the other buildings along the Mall appear fundamentally
It was an understandable yet unfortunate substitution, as the unchanged when lit at night, the NMAAHC assumes a stunningly
aluminum lacks the minute irregularities that give natural bronze different aspect when the corona is backlit. The somewhat brooding
such depth and richness when viewed at close or even medium quality that it possesses by day begins to fade at dusk into an
range. To mimic that effect as closely as possible, the design team ethereal luminousness.
specified a polymer coating called PVDF, or polyvinylidene fluoride,
which does indeed lend some desirable variation to the color of The Choreography of Experience
the grillwork. “We worked for nearly a year on that finish,” said
Hal Davis, FAIA, senior vice president of SmithGroupJJR, who The main entrance to the museum faces Madison Drive, and is
oversaw the design and execution of the building’s enclosure, announced by a monumental yet sleek canopy some 200 feet long.
“and in the end, I think it paid off.” While obviously quite different in form and scale, the canopy alludes
While some compromises were necessary in the choice of to the traditional porches that play vital social roles in historic
material for the screen, they in no way diminish the larger-scale African American neighborhoods, and effectively serves the same
visual impact of the corona. It is a polite yet confident rebuke to function: it defines a transitional space between inside and outside,
the prevailing classicism of the National Mall. Its intricate patterns between the general and the particular. It is also deftly designed so
contrast with the stony solidity of neighboring buildings, just as its as not to compromise the purity of the main block of the building—
dark color stands out against the predominant marble and limestone. the roof is pulled back from the edge of the corona, while a lower-scale

A DREAM DEFERRED NO MORE 23