Co.Design’s Architect of the Year, Phil Freelon, is changing the profession–one building, and one architect, at a time.
It’s just before 9 a.m. on an overcast February morning. About 60 fifth graders at a Harlem charter school have just filed into a multipurpose room to hear architect Phil Freelon talk about his career-defining work on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, or NMAAHC, in Washington, D.C., the universally celebrated newest addition to the Smithsonian Institution. But before he gets to his lesson about the design—a brilliant, bronze-hued building that alights the Mall like a shining crown—he warms up the crowd by letting them in on a secret: He once played drums in a band with his brother, Gregory Freelon, a teacher at the school. The room’s energy perks up as students whisper; Phil has instantly connected to each of them. Now it’s time for the meatier part of his talk.