Superstructure of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

The five-story above-grade structure of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, USA, features a number of unusual elements, including composite steel and concrete shear walls, a system of cantilevered and perimeter belt trusses, a glass and perforated cast metal facade hung from the top of the building and a long-span free-standing steel entrance canopy, all of which presented both technical analysis and construction challenges for the designers and contractors. The design intent and analysis of these elements is described in this paper.