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National Museum of American Indian - Suitland

Year

Completed 1998

The Cultural Resources Center (CRC), the second of three facilities comprising the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, is home to the extensive collections and research programs of the museum. Completed in 1998 and opened in 1999, the CRC, located just outside of Washington, D.C., in Suitland, Maryland, provides state-of-the-art resources and facilities for the proper conservation, protection, handling, cataloging, research, and study of the museum's collections, library holdings, and photo and paper archives.

The unique design of the Cultural Resources Center was conceived and executed with the direct involvement of Native communities. The architectural program and design for the building were the result of numerous consultations and collaborations with NMAI staff, design professionals, and a cross-section of Native peoples from throughout the Western Hemisphere and Hawai'i. The architectural program, The Way of the People, was developed by a team of consultants led by Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates. The architectural design was developed by the Polshek Partnership of New York, Tobey + Davis of Virginia, and the Native American Design Collaborative, a consortium of Native design professionals and cultural consultants. Construction of the CRC, begun in summer 1996 and completed in fall 1998, was funded by both public and private support.

Measurements

Gross Exterior: approx. 164,000 sq. ft. Gross Interior: approx. 157,000 sq. ft.

Location

4220 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746

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