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Veteran
Phil Freelon, Durham architect of African-American History museum, dies
BY JOE JOHNSON AND
MARTHA QUILLIN
JULY 09, 2019 01:12 PM, UPDATED 21 MINUTES AGO
Phil Freelon, Durham architect of African-American History museum, dies
BY JOE JOHNSON AND
MARTHA QUILLIN
JULY 09, 2019 01:12 PM, UPDATED 21 MINUTES AGO
- Facebook page message from the North Star Church of the Arts that he founded with his wife, Nnenna, said Tuesday Freelon had died.
Freelon, 66, was diagnosed with ALS in March 2016, six months ahead of the opening of one of his crowning achievements, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The News & Observer previously reported.
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Architect Phil Freelon, designer of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, is one of six people Duke will award honorary degrees to at 2018 spring commencement. McClatchy
Freelon founded the architectural firm The Freelon Group in 1990, growing the firm to more than 45 employees and working on notable projects such as the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and Emancipation Park in Houston, The News & Observer has previously reported.
He was The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Year in 2009, an honor given to residents who have made significant contributions to the region, North Carolina and beyond.
Perkins+Will, which has more than 20 offices across the world, acquired the firm in 2014 and made Freelon managing director of both its Durham and Charlotte offices.
ALS is a degenerative neurological disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. Patients lose the ability to control muscle movements, eventually resulting in total paralysis, while their minds usually remain sharp. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, it affects about five people per 100,000 in the U.S.
Freelon was being treated at the Duke University Hospital clinic led by Dr. Richard Bedlack, a neurologist with more than 60 articles published on the illness.
Phil Freelon, Durham architect of African-American History museum, dies
