page_title: National Museum of African Art
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: National Museum of African Art / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: 1987. Overall view of Quad and the pavilions of the Smithsonian Institution's two new museums: On the left the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (Asian Art) (AMSG) with pyramided roof, and on the right the National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) with domed roof. In the center is the Enid A. Haupt Garden which sits atop the underground museums with the Smithsonian Institution Building (SIB), the "Castle," in the background. Visible to the left behind the Sackler is the copper-domed kiosk which is the public entrance to the S. Dillon Ripley International Center (RC) located on the third and deepest level of the complex. On the far right a portion of the Arts &amp; Industries Building (A&amp;I) and on the far left a portion of the Freer Gallery of Art (FGA) are visible.
context_page_description: The National Museum of African Art is the Smithsonian Institution's African art museum, located on the National Mall of the United States capital. Its collections include 9,000 works of traditional and contemporary African art from both Sub-Saharan and Arab North Africa, 300,000 photographs, and 50,000 library volumes. It was the first institution dedicated to African art in the United States, and remains the largest collection. The Washington Post called the museum a mainstay in the international art world and the main venue for contemporary African art in the United States.
  The museum was founded in 1964 by a Foreign Service officer and layman who bought African art objects in Germany and multiple houses in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in which to display them. The collection focused on traditional African art and an educational mission to teach black cultural heritage. To ensure the museum's longevity, the founder lobbied the national legislature to adopt the museum under the Smithsonian's auspices. It joined the Smithsonian in 1979 and became the National Museum of African Art two years later.
context_section_description: The museum's National Mall building construction began in mid-1983. The project, which also included the Sackler Gallery for the Smithsonian's Asian art, created 368,000 square feet of exhibition space at a cost of $73.2 million, half of which from the federal government. Almost all of this room was created underground so as not to affect the quadrangle's landmark Smithsonian Institution Building (the Castle), its greenery, or its view. The Smithsonian Castle hides the museum and South Quadrangle from the National Mall, which has contributed to the museum's lower attendance compared with other Mall attractions. The quadrangle project's design architect was Jean-Paul Carlhian of Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbott, based on a concept by Junzō Yoshimura. The two new museums had little involvement in the architectural designs, which were drawn in the 1970s prior to their arrival.
  The African art and Sackler buildings were built as twin pavilions, each one story above ground and with similar display space: five galleries each, and only one with natural light. They are differentiated by their roof adornments: domes on the African art building and pyramids on the Sackler. The African art pavilion was built in red granite and uses the circle shape as its architectural theme, with round windows, rounded entrance staircase, and six, round domes on its roof. Inside, a limestone foyer overlooks the gardens and a curving stair hall leads visitors down curving stairs to the galleries. The galleries are large and customized by exhibition designers into smaller rooms to better suit small objects. The buildings are visible from Independence Avenue, and the new Enid A. Haupt Garden runs between them and the Smithsonian Institution Building. Underground, the museum and offices occupy the first two levels, and a third level hosts exhibition and educational rooms. Its levels are connected by a three-story enclosed arcade with large skylights set into the gardens above, through several feet of dirt. The pavilion was renovated in the early 2000s with a major donation from Eastman Kodak.
  The museum is scheduled for remodeling as part of the $2 billion Smithsonian South Mall project. Plans from the Danish architects, Bjarke Ingels Group, would replace the above-ground pavilion with new mall-facing entrances. The renovation is supported by private and federal investment, and was expected to begin in 2016 and finish in 10 to 20 years. Yinka Shonibare's Wind Sculpture VII was put on permanent display outside the museum in late 2016.
caption: View of the four-acre[7] quadrangle, with the Sackler Gallery (near left), Enid A. Haupt Garden and Smithsonian Institution Building (center), and African art museum (near right)
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