The Museum of the African Diaspora occupies 20,000 sq. ft. on portions of three floors of the St. Regis Museum Tower Hotel / Condominium. Located at the corner of Third and Mission Streets in San Francisco, MoAD is in the heart of the Yerba Buena cultural district and is a close neighbor to Mario Botta's SF Museum of Modern Art.

The Museum's Mission Street frontage and entry are distinguished from the remainder of the tower (designed by SOM) by its limestone cladding and expansive 3-story curtain wall and atrium which provide a "jewel box" quality to the fa栤e. The atrium space not only houses the primary vertical circulation but also showcases a significant exhibit element. From a distance, the face of an African child is seen through the curtain wall. As one approaches, enters and ascends through the building, the constituent images which form the child's face begin to tell the story of the African Diaspora.

The entry is marked by an "intervention" expressed through the intersection of the orthogonal city grid and the angled axis of the orange canopy that visually guides the visitor into the Museum. The primary design objective was to engage the public starting at the street level and to incorporate the themes and content of the Museum throughout the architectural design of all three floors.

The organization of the museum's program within the three levels was informed by the pre-existing tenant allocations made by the Tower developer and architect. Due to the limited ground floor area, the ticketing and museum store were designed as an open, flexible environment. As a single fluid space, the ground floor can be readily adapted to specific events or become a reception / pre-function area for the multi-purpose space above.

The extended ceiling height at the ground floor (19'-0" clear to the slab above) was used to create a frieze on which graphic depictions of MoAD's themes - Origins, Movement, Adaptation and Transformation - are expresses in words and images. This approach allowed for the incorporation of exhibit content on the ground level without consuming valuable floor space in this most constricted area of the Museum.

The second floor houses the immersive exhibits, the multi-purpose room and public support spaces. Traveling exhibits and administrative offices are located on the third floor.

Exhibit Design:

Sussman/Prejza & Co.

Photography:

Todd Hido/EDGE