The Smithsonian Institution has chosen six architectural teams to compete for the £351m ($500m, €391m) contract to design the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, US.

Among the finalists are UK-based architects Norman Foster of Foster + Partners in collaboration with URS as well as US-based architects Devrouax & Purnell; Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, which has designed the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha; Freelon Adjaye Bond in association with SmithGroup; Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Moody Nolan; and Moshe Safdie and Associates. These teams were shortlisted from a long list consisting of 22 architects. Each design team will be given a £35,000 ($50,000,€45,000) stipend and two months to complete their concepts before being evaluated by a design jury.

The architectural firms will be expected to design an energy-efficient structure so that the museum becomes Smithsonian’s first museum to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. Museum director Lonnie Bunch, who is leading the 11-person jury, told the local press he is looking for a design that "speaks about resiliency, optimism and spirituality".

The museum, which will be built on five-acre (two-hectare) plot between the Washington Monument and Capitol, is expected to be completed by 2015.