Museum of the African Diaspora Mission St. entrance.

The Museum of the African Diaspora occupies approximately 20,000 sq. ft. on portions of three floors of the St. Regis Museum Tower located at the corner of Third and Mission Streets in the Yerba Buena district of San Francisco.

One of the most compelling architectural features of the St. Regis Museum Tower is the three-story full glass atrium facing Mission Street. Visual access to the building is through this large glass wall and three story volume of space which serves as an active portal into the Museum.

The primary design objective is to engage the visitor and incorporate the themes and content of the Museum throughout the architectural design of all three floors.

The atrium space not only houses the primary circulation but also becomes a significant exhibit element. From a distance, the face of an African child is seen through the glass wall. As one approaches, enters and ascends through the building, the constituent images which form the child’s face begin to tell the story on the African Diaspora.

The extended height of the ground floor space (19’-0” clear to the slab above) is used to convey the MoAD themes on wall surfaces above head level. This approach allows for the incorporation of exhibit content on the ground level.

The second floor offers a variety of exhibit spaces and has been partitioned into two zones: the space set deeper within the building is a more controlled environment for the immersive exhibits; and the more open space is a multi-purpose area intended for exhibit, meeting, dining, and other functions.

Exhibit spaces continue onto the third floor, which are especially suitable for traveling exhibits. Space within the adjacent Williams building is accessible at the third floor level of the Museum. Due to the lower ceiling height and more densely spaced columns of the Williams Building, this space was designed for the Museum’s administrative support and other back of house functions.

Situated within this more intimate environment is the educational space, which can simultaneously serve both the Museum’s visiting public as well as internal research and administrative activities. The Founders Library is also located in the Williams building space.

About the architects
The Freelon Group is a fifty-eight member architectural firm founded by Philip G. Freelon, FAIA, in 1990 with offices in the Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina. The firm has specialized design expertise in Museums and Cultural Centers among other building types.

In addition to the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), other museum and cultural center projects include the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, NC; the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans, LA.; and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on the Campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. Freelon was recently selected as the winner of the competition for the National African American Heritage Center in Harrisburg, PA.

Philip G. Freelon is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and has served as a visiting lecturer and critic at Harvard University, MIT, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T State University, Howard University, University of Utah, California College of Arts & Crafts, University of Maryland, Morgan State University and Kent State University (Florence, Italy program).