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Contemplative Court at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

The NMAAHC brings together many disparate ideas: architecture and sculpture, destruction and creation, celebration and mourning. At its heart, Contemplative Court distills all these themes into a single moment – one that follows the ascent from three subterranean galleries that chronicle centuries of American slavery. To enter the court is to walk inside a sculpture; surrounded by luminous walls of caramel-coloured glass, a circular waterfall cascades from the lip of a massive glazed oculus open to the sky above. A ceiling of blackened aluminum sheeting provides a sombre counterpoint to the churning water, which is lit from below; monumental stone benches encourage visitors to reflect and recharge.

Project: Contemplative Court at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Location: Washington, D.C., USA Firm: Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroupJJR, USA Team: Pure + FreeForm

People’s Choice: Commercial and Institutional
Contemplative Court at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Explore more Award Winners

2013
WinnerCommercial and Institutional
Location
Hamburg, Germany
Firms
D-Lightvision, Design Stauss Grillmeier, Pfarré Lighting Design and Raupach Architekten, all from Munich
Team
Christian Raupach, with Erwin Döring, Gerd Pfarré and Kilian Stauss
2020
Award of MeritCommercial and Institutional
Location
New York City, U.S.
Firm
Rockwell Group, U.S. Team
2015
Award of MeritCommercial and Institutional
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Firm
Landini Associates