The Smithsonian Institution on Thursday named six teams, including one headed by Pritzker Prize winner Norman Foster, to take part in a design competition that is--well, a bit odd. The competition will determine, a news release says, who gets "to submit a formal proposal" to design the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. In other words, as often is the case in design competititons, the winner may--or may not--actually see their design get built.
One thing we surely can expect, however, is this: Controversy and plenty of it. The new museum is supposed to be built on the National Mall, on a five-acre site to the northeast of the Washington Monument. Sure, it will strive to become the Mall's first green museum. But expect fights over the urban planning question of whether the Mall is getting too crowded with monuments and museums, as Andrew Ferguson wrote in this hilarious, insightful analysis from 2005. (Be sure to scroll down to get the text).
Alas, there are no Chicagoans in the final six for the African American museum. But, as Architectural Record reports, Chicago architects Mark Sexton and Ron Krueck, whose credits include the much-admired Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies and who are finalists for the planned Eisenhower Museum just south of the Mall, are showing off renderings (above) for a pair of slanty office buildings in the capital. The first of the pair is to be completed later this year.
POSTSCRIPT: Today's Washington Post reports on the African American Museum competition, adding useful graphics. But the story has a couple of errors. First, it identifies architect I.M. Pei as one of the "luminaries of the field" vying for the commission. Pei is indeed a luminary, but he is no longer a partner at the firm that bears his name, Pei Cobb Freed, as a spokesman for the firm just confirmed. The firm of Pei Cobb Freed, not Pei, is competing for the museum project.
Also, for what it's worth, the Post story refers to Foster as "Sir". Let's get our British titles right, shall we? He's now "Lord."
One thing we surely can expect, however, is this: Controversy and plenty of it. The new museum is supposed to be built on the National Mall, on a five-acre site to the northeast of the Washington Monument. Sure, it will strive to become the Mall's first green museum. But expect fights over the urban planning question of whether the Mall is getting too crowded with monuments and museums, as Andrew Ferguson wrote in this hilarious, insightful analysis from 2005. (Be sure to scroll down to get the text).
Alas, there are no Chicagoans in the final six for the African American museum. But, as Architectural Record reports, Chicago architects Mark Sexton and Ron Krueck, whose credits include the much-admired Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies and who are finalists for the planned Eisenhower Museum just south of the Mall, are showing off renderings (above) for a pair of slanty office buildings in the capital. The first of the pair is to be completed later this year.
POSTSCRIPT: Today's Washington Post reports on the African American Museum competition, adding useful graphics. But the story has a couple of errors. First, it identifies architect I.M. Pei as one of the "luminaries of the field" vying for the commission. Pei is indeed a luminary, but he is no longer a partner at the firm that bears his name, Pei Cobb Freed, as a spokesman for the firm just confirmed. The firm of Pei Cobb Freed, not Pei, is competing for the museum project.
Also, for what it's worth, the Post story refers to Foster as "Sir". Let's get our British titles right, shall we? He's now "Lord."
More Informactions:http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/architecture/