It is not just cherry blossoms that are blooming in Washington, DC

April is always an exciting time of year in Washington, D.C., as thousands flock to the city to experience the blossoming of the Yoshino Cherry trees. This year the peak bloom was April 11-14th according to the National Park Service.

Yet on April 14th the National Museum of African American History and Culture also had some exciting things blossoming. The first of the building’s exterior panels for the Museums Corona have been hung!

Each panel is roughly 3’ by 5’, and approximately 3,600 are required to clad the entire building. The design of the panels is our architect David Adjaye’s modern interpretation of slave-made New Orleans ornamental iron work. The panels are made of cast aluminum with a custom artisan painted finish and weigh from 95-130 pounds each, depending on the opacity of the design. There are four opacities ranging from 10% open to 35% open for the panels on each side of the building. This opacity will allow a certain amount on sunlight into the building helping to regulate the temperature of the building. This will help establish the buildings LEED Gold Certification for an energy efficient building.

The installation of the panels is slated for completion towards the end of June or early July. Once completed, the corona will visually define the Museum inside and out. Sunlight entering through the panels will gently illuminate the Museum’s wood-covered interior walls. And at night, light reflecting off the corona’s spectacular exterior will make the Museum truly stand out on the National Mall — as it reaches to the heavens to express the faith, hope and resilience of the African American spirit.

We wanted to take this chance to thank YOU for all your support, and helping to make this Museum become a reality! These construction milestones would not have been possible without the steadfast commitment from our amazing Charter Members!

We hope if you live in the area or will be visiting in the next few months, you will stop by our construction site to go see this amazing milestone in progress.

Sincerely,

Edison R. Wato Jr.
Membership Program Manager

Please, consider helping the museum with a donation! Or join as a Charter Member of the Museum!