National Building Museum

What it reported doing in 2024

Exhibitions: in fiscal year 2025, the national building museum presented eight exhibitions that examined and interpreted the built environment.house and home is a long-term exhibition presentation that takes visitors on a tour of houses both familiar and surprising, through past and present, challenging our ideas about what it means to live at home in america.brick city celebrates iconic architecture from cities around the world through carefully recreated constructions made from lego bricks by u.k.-based artist warren elsmore. Visitors will take a world tour discovering new destinations across all seven continents that include: lively streetscapes from cartagena, colombia; mardi gras celebrations in new orleans; intricate temples from india to mexico; and imaginative castles from medieval japan to modern las vegas.mini memories presents selections from a one-of-a-kind collection of souvenir buildings, on display to the public for the first time. Generously donated to the national building museum by architects david weingarten and lucia howard, along with margaret majua in 2019, the collection of more than 3,000 miniature mementos, the most extensive of its type, represents a lifetime of careful curation.building stories is the first national exhibition to call attention to the built environment's role as an important, and often overlooked, character in children's literature. By activating these stories and their built worlds, and the early foundations for how we begin to understand our surroundings, building stories allows visitors to investigate the role the built environment plays in our own lives and communitiesand how we can be agents of change for its more sustainable, equitable future.frank lloyd wright's southwestern Pennsylvania presents both realized and unrealized projects frank lloyd wright designed for the region from the 1930s through the 1950s. The exhibition examines how his vision of the future might have impacted urban, suburban, and rural landscapes.capital brutalism explores the history, current state, and future of seven polarizing buildings and the wmata metro system in Washington, d.c. The exhibition uses archival documents, drawings, construction photographs, architectural models, and contemporary photographs to provide context and shed light on the buildings' stories.visible vault: open collections storage showcases a broad range of artifacts from the museum's permanent collection, highlighting america's architectural and design heritage. The exhibition provides visitors with a unique opportunity to engage with significant historical objects that were previously unavailable to the public due to their size, scope, and material. This exhibition is a testament to the museum's commitment to preserving and sharing the fascinating narratives of the world we design and build.a south forty: contemporary architecture and design in the american south aims to provide an overview of the current vitality of contemporary architecture and design in the american south, through both illustrated profiles of buildings and practices and statements of principles and observations by those in practice in the region.coming together: reimagining america's downtowns explores the lessons learned and opportunities embraced in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. After a period of adapting and reshaping, cities across the country are coming to terms with lasting changes in work, housing, mobility, entertainment, and recreation.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 64.5%; rating input score 64
• Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 97.6%; rating input score 98; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 24.7%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.52; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 11.6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings