Six teams created conceptual designs for the Smithsonian’s upcoming National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

Devrouax + Purnell / Pei Cobb
Freed & Partners

Diller Scofidio + Renfro
with Kling Stubbins

Foster + Partners / URS Group

Freelon Adjaye Bond /
SmithGroup

Moody Nolan / Antoine Predock
Architect PC

Moshe Safdie and Associates

According to the Post, the public can comment on the designs until April 6th at the Smithsonian Castle, but then a jury will pick a design without looking at the public input. NCPC and the CFA will then get to weigh in and probably modify the design before anything gets built. (The museum also has to raise money for construction.)

[We had a reader poll to pick a choice, which has since disappeared from its hosted location, sadly.]

Update: some people have obviously been stuffing the poll above. My logs show a large number of clicks from a Facebook profile of someone with the last name Devrouax, for example (but not architect Paul S. Devrouax). Before the stuffing really got going, the Safdie “hull” alternative was in first, and “I don’t like any of these” in second. I’m honored that some people consider our poll worth stuffing!

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.