New Biography Highlights J. Max Bond Jr., Architect of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Princeton University Press has released a new biography titled Max Bond: The Life and Work of the People’s Architect, which emphasizes J. Max Bond Jr.'s contributions to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Although Bond passed away in 2009, his team, Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup, emerged victorious in the design competition, leading to the museum's opening in September 2016. Since then, David Adjaye has often been solely credited for the design. In July 2023, allegations of sexual misconduct against Adjaye surfaced in the Financial Times. The museum marked its 10th anniversary in September, while the Trump administration sought to modify its narratives. Bond was a critic of the “Star System” in architecture, promoting collective and democratic design approaches.
Key facts
- J. Max Bond Jr. died of cancer in 2009, before his team won the design competition for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
- The winning team was Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup, consisting of Philip Freelon, J. Max Bond Jr., and David Adjaye.
- The museum opened in September 2016 on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
- Media coverage has focused on David Adjaye, with The Guardian, Vogue, and The New Yorker referring to the building as his alone.
- The museum’s concourse-level exhibition A Century in the Making includes a panel titled “An Architectural Marvel” about the design competition.
- In July 2023, the Financial Times reported that three female former employees accused Adjaye of serious sexual misconduct.
- In September, the museum celebrated its 10th anniversary as the Trump administration sought to narrow or erase Smithsonian histories.
- Bond wrote in an unpublished 1993 essay that architects should question whether the “Star System” serves their interests as a group.
Entities
Artists
- J. Max Bond Jr.
- Philip Freelon
- David Adjaye
- James Max Bond, Jr.
- Brian D. Goldstein
- John Moutoussamy
- Paul R. Williams
- John Chase
- Roger Margerum
- Donald Ryder
- Nathan Smith
- James Whitley
- Jeh Johnson
- Whitney Young
- Robert Nash
- Roger Glasgow
- James R. Doman
- Stan Britt
- Henri LeGendre
- Donald Stull
- Lionel Hampton
- Billy Taylor
- Illinois Jacquet
- Grady Tate
- Charlayne Hunter
- Ada Louise Huxtable
- John Lindsay
- Nelson Rockefeller
- Richard Nixon
- Edward Logue
- Ifill Johnson Hanchard
Institutions
- Smithsonian Institution
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup
- The Guardian
- Vogue
- The New Yorker
- Financial Times
- Princeton University Press
- Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture and Planning
- Davis Brody Bond
- Trump administration
- Studio Museum in Harlem
- Adjaye Associates
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
- Harvard Club of New York
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
- J. Max Bond Center for Urban Futures
- City College of New York
- Swarthmore College
- Bond Ryder Associates
- Ebony
- American Institute of Architects
- New York Coalition of Black Architects
- Council for the Advancement of the Negro in Architecture
- National Organization of Minority Architects
- Ford Foundation
- New York City Housing Authority
- Held and Rubin
- UDC
- Museum of Modern Art
- Dubin, Dubin, Black & Moutoussamy
- Roger Glasgow Associates
- James R. Doman and Associates
- LST Design Collaborative
- Progressive Architecture
- Mary Holmes College
- The New York Times
Locations
- Washington, DC
- United States
- National Mall
- Ghana
- United Kingdom
- Harlem
- New York
- Atlanta
- Georgia
- Brownsville
- Brooklyn
- Chicago
- Illinois
- Los Angeles
- California
- Texas Southern
- Detroit
- Michigan
- Cleveland
- Ohio
- Trenton
- New Jersey
- East St. Louis
- St. Nicholas Park
- Bushwick
- East Harlem Triangle
- Frederick Douglass Circle
- Central Park
- Eighth Avenue
- West 131st Street
- New York Avenue
- Marcus Garvey Houses
- Brownsville Multi-Service Center
- Atlantic Terminal
- Hunts Points
- Boston
- Massachusetts
- Washington, D.C.