I celebrated Labor Day this year in our nation’s capital where we visited 2 unique projects - the National Arboretum in Northeast DC and the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) on the Mall. The Administration Building and Visitor Center at the National Arboretum was designed by the firm Deigert & Yerkes and opened in 1963. The African American Museum was designed by Sir David Adjaye and opened in 2016. Both make strong use of metal screens for practical as well as decorative purposes and inspired me to post a second photo essay on the topic.
At the National Arboretum the sunshading screen creates an ornamental boundary between the center’s administrative offices and the adjacent public spaces. The strong overall linear form also serves to direct visitors into the building and continues leading the way straight out to the gardens.
At the NMAAHC, a metal lattice wraps the entire building whose dark bronze color and 3-tiered form set it apart from the iconic Washington Monument that towers nearby. During design of the envelope, the Ghanaian-British Adjaye was said to have been inspired by the intricate ironwork crafted by enslaved African Americans in Louisiana and South Carolina. I was awed by the shadows and reflections that came and went on surfaces at the interior as the sun’s strength outside waxed and waned. The screen’s passive shading also creates a wonderfully balanced daylit and thermally comfortable interior.
p.s. if you visit the National Arboretum, check out the bonsai!!
