First Americans Museum
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Client: American Indian Cultural Center Foundation
After more than two decades of design and construction, Oklahoma City’s First Americans Museum (FAM) officially opened its doors to the public in September 2023. Johnson Fain and a diverse team of consultants provided comprehensive design services to the American Indian Cultural Center Foundation (AICCF), and representatives of 39 Oklahoma tribes to create the First Americans Museum. The master planning concept includes mound building as used by many Oklahoma tribes as a method of elevating land above dangerous flood levels. The symbolism of a circular spiral mound central to the design concept was employed to represent the Indian’s “procession of life” from a “garden of origins” to a ninety-foot-high promontory overlooking the river with views towards downtown Oklahoma City and the sky above. Symbolism and storytelling are embodied throughout the site, the architecture and exhibits.
The First Americans Museum is a building of the earth integrated into the large rising spiral mound at the heart of the site. A tall prismatic glass “Hall of The People” is the meeting place for the many tribes making up Oklahoma’s rich Native American heritage and the starting place for the visitor to begin the journey through the multi-layered story of Native American culture and history.
A circular Cultural Center and Museum building intersects the promontory walk which symbolizes the “Encounter & Inclusion” of the Western European occupation. At the center of the Courtyard of Nations, one can mark the winter solstice through a passageway carved through the spiral mound.
Services
Cultural Center & Museum Master Planning, Architecture, Interiors, Public Engagement
Program
125,000 sq. ft. cultural center and museum, lodge and meeting center, specialty retail, artists’ village, foundry, indoor/outdoor ceremonial areas, interpretive landscaping, dance grounds and outdoor amphitheater
Site Area
330 acres
Completion Date
1997-2021
Awards
- AIA AIA Next LA, Honor Award
- AIA Oklahoma City Chapter Merit Award
- AIA Los Angeles, Design Award
- National EPA Phoenix Award, Excellence in Brownfield Development
- ULI, Americas Award for Excellence
- Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Awards 2023
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