National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Museum of African American History and Culture’s Contemplative Court, by David Adjaye Associates, is defined by sweeping walls of custom Bendheim glass. It is a one-of-a-kind, copper-bronze decorative laminated glass creation. Developed and produced exclusively for the museum, it lends a sense of luminosity and warmth, contributing to the serenity and elegance of the space.

The museum pays homage to African American art, tradition, history, and culture, while the Contemplative Court serves as a therapeutic escape for visitors – a sanctuary of serenity and peace. The luminous bronze walls of semi-opaque Bendheim glass separate the Court from museum gallery traffic. The laminated glass offers enhanced safety and sound control. The resulting “quiet” aesthetic contributes to the design objective – to promote reconciliation and healing.

Bendheim’s decorative laminated glass offers the highest level of design flexibility and customization. It is available in a wide range of interlayers, including: color filters, color and white fades, metals, meshes, textiles, wood veneers, rice papers, custom prints, and more. We produce it domestically through several types of in-house lamination processes, combining two or more layers of glass with one or more decorative interlayers. This process allows the creation of virtually unlimited aesthetic options. As an added benefit, the glass offers enhanced sound transmission control, with 4 pt. or greater improvement to the STC.