Letter
Dear Mr. Davis:
The Commission would like to express its appreciation for the information presentation at its meeting of 19 February on the planning and design process for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Commission members complimented the Smithsonian staff on its planning efforts to create the best possible design for this new national institution.
The Commission members commented on the unique opportunity presented by the project while noting the extreme sensitivity of the site within the Washington Monument Grounds and the larger symbolic landscape of the National Mall; they reiterated their concern for the difficulty of planning a building on a site with four prominent frontages. They noted concurrent planning work by the National Park Service for the National Mall and encouraged collaboration in these efforts to integrate uses and to avoid the multiplication of freestanding structures in the historic and symbolic landscape.
The Commission looks forward to seeing initial designs for the museum facility when the design team has been selected. As always, the staff is available to assist you with the next submission.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, AIA
Secretary
Curtis Davis, Project Executive—NMAAHC
Office of Facilities Engineering and Operations
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012, MRC 511
Washington, DC 20013-7012
cc: Harry Rombach, Smithsonian Institution
Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian Institution
Peter May, National Park Service