The National Museum of African-American History & Culture
Faithful+Gould was part of the winning team led by the architectural joint venture comprising, The Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates, Davis Brody Bond Aedas and Smith Group, to design the new National Museum of African-American History & Culture for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
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Legislation for a national center for the African-American experience was first proposed in 1929. More modern efforts remained at the project proposal stage for almost 20 years, before legislation established the museum as part of the Smithsonian in 2003.
The Smithsonian Institution is home to 19 museums, nine research centers and the National Zoo, making it the world's largest museum complex. The NMAAHC’s 313,000 square feet building is located at the end of the prestigious National Mall in Washington, DC, 800 feet from the Washington Monument and next to the National Museum of American History.
NMAAHC aims to promote the study and appreciation of African-American history and culture, its impact on America, its people, and the world. The museum will provide for the collection and study of artifacts and documents relating to African-American life, and for the establishment of programs relating to lived experience, art, history and culture. Permanent and temporary exhibits will document the history of African-American life through the periods of slavery, reconstruction, the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement and others.
Even without a building, the NMAAHC has been an active enterprise for several years, incorporating a virtual museum online, exhibits in other parts of the Smithsonian and an archive of 1,800 recorded oral history interviews. This reflects the global museum community’s growing trend for maximizing the potential of virtual access and social networking. Most museums are now using or exploring this model, alongside their traditional facilities, to offer access to visitors of all ages, backgrounds, nationalities and locations.
The NMAAHC project is attracting considerable attention because of its location, the challenges of building in this historic area and the shrinking availability of land on the Mall. Technical issues include the water table underneath the Mall, a 50-foot setback ordered by the federal government after the 2001 terrorist attacks, utility issues in an open space, and the height of a structure within sight of the Washington Monument and the White House.
With the site now assured – and with a budget of $500 million, from a mix of federal government and private benefactor funds – the project is now in the design phase. Six award-winning architects competed to design the signature building. The Smithsonian selected a joint venture of four architect firms: The Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates, Davis Brody Bond Aedas and Smith Group.
During the design competition Faithful+Gould was instrumental in setting the construction budget, providing cost estimating services for the winning team. We are now providing estimating, life cycle costing and cost advice during the design phase, which runs until late 2012. Construction of the museum is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
The concept design phase was completed in October 2010. During this phase, Faithful+Gould provided cost estimates for three design alternatives, prior to the Smithsonian Institution selecting one of them, which was then refined into a final concept design with a budget.
There are several components to the design which are very cost-sensitive and the subject of detailed design and cost analysis. These include:
• Groundwater possibly requiring a permanent underground drainage system;
• Structural solution to satisfy program requirements (large open spaces), façade loading issues and security concerns; and
• An iconic-looking building which features an envelope comprising glazing and bronze effect metal panels, all at an angle to the perpendicular;
During the schematic design stage the selected concept alternative will be developed further. In terms of cost, the estimate will be updated and we will carry out a Life Cycle Costing Analysis. That is a very important element of the overall cost advice for the Smithsonian Institution as they understand, through their experience with owning and operating several other buildings, that life cycle costs are such an important consideration along with capital costs.
The development of the cost estimate during this phase will consider sensitive cost items, as noted above, as well as items that had no definition in the concept design, e.g. equipment and furniture allowances.
The success of cost estimating in this project, as in all projects, is largely dependent on teamwork, and particularly treating the cost advisor as part of the design team. This is working very well despite the challenges of a team comprising four joint venture architects and over 30 sub-consultants. There are several reasons for the successful integration of the cost services into the design team which are:
- Strong leadership and good communication from the architectural team;
- Respect for the importance of the cost estimator in the design process;
- Early involvement of the estimator in the design phase so that the design is fully understood as it develops; and
- Requesting early input from the cost estimator in terms of information required for preparation of the estimate and advice on relative costs for different options before the design stage is complete.
Another very important aspect contributing to the success of the project is the involvement of the Smithsonian Institution. One of their major initiatives on the project is to hold a partnering session for their representatives and the consultants at the beginning of each design phase, which is hosted by an independent facilitator. The partnering session for the schematic design phase was recently held in Washington, DC and it was generally regarded as being a great success. This was partly due to a comprehensive discussion of successes and lessons learned from the concept design phase, which can be implemented in the schematic design phase.
With a continuation of the teamwork and commitment that has been shown on the project to date, the National Museum of African-American History & Culture is likely to be a great success and an exciting addition to the Smithsonian Institution’s and Washington, DC’s collection of world class museums. |
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