Designed by
Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup, American, founded 2008
Sir Adjaye, David, British, born 1966
Bond, J. Max Jr., American, 1935 - 2009
Freelon, Philip G., American, 1953 - 2019
SmithGroupJJR, American, founded 1853
Manufactured by
Peerless Pattern Works, Inc., founded 1923
Morel Industries, founded 1917
Dura Industries, American, ca. 1985
Northstar Contracting, Inc., American
Commissioned by
National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
Date
ca. 2013
Medium
cast aluminum coated with vinyl paint
Dimensions
H x W x D: 63 × 41 1/4 × 1 1/2 in. (160 × 104.8 × 3.8 cm)
Description
An openwork cast aluminum panel of the type used to fabricate the cladding that covers the exterior of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, located on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The panel's bronze color is the final finish, a Custom Artisan 3.5 in a 5-coat Kynar system, a costum Valspare mixture used for each layer of the 5-coats, and is the same as the color of the panels installed on the NMAAHC building. Panels with varying levels of opacity are used on each side of the building, to regulate the amount of light that enters the building. This panel is the Type C design, with an opacity or density of 75% (25% open). This panel was fabricated at the same time as the panels installed on the building.
The tooling for the Corona panels was made at Peerless Pattern Works in Portland, Oregon. The panels were cast at Morel Industries in Portland, Oregon. After painting, the panels were sent to Cleveland, Ohio to Northstar Contracting for assembly onto carrier frames prior to installation on site.
The panel sometimes is referred to as a "corona panel," because these panels encapsulate the stacked upper levels of the building's design, referred to as the "corona" levels by the architects. The stacked shape of the building itself was designed to relfect the stacked top portions of Yoruba carved wood columns by Olowe of Ise found on traditional buildings in Nigeria. This top portion is known as a "capital" in architectural vocabulary, and the architects also use the words "crown" and "corona" to refer to the design inspiration they gained from this top portion of Yoruba column.
Place collected
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
Buildings and Structures
Type
facades
Topic
African diaspora
Architecture
Design
Local and regional
Museums
Ornamentation
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2016.41.2
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5385cf384-e5d4-4a20-bc02-d280991ecb86

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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