Freelon Adjaye Bond’s winning proposal.

Today, the Smithsonian announced that they have selected Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup to design the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Their design submission resembled a rectangular, mostly concrete building with a basket or crown on top.

You hotly debated which was best, or whether they were all terrible. Jim Malone, JTS and Vik all liked this one, while blackartist was very disappointed by this design from architects he or she respects highly.

The group will now begin designing the final building with construction to begin in 2012. NCPC and the Commission on Fine Arts will weigh in during the design as well. The end result could look significantly different from what we see here. Here’s a video of the press conference.

Tip: Steve.

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Tagged: architecture, dc, public spaces, the mall

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.