National Building Museum

Adopt an Artifact: Daniel Fiel Drafting Tools

The National Building Museum is home to the nation’s foremost archive of American architectural and design heritage. The Adopt an Artifact program allows you to directly support the proper care and preservation of objects with critical conservation needs, helping the Museum continue its mission to inspire curiosity about the world we design and build. To support this initiative, click here.

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Program Details

If you’ve ever flown through Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, you’ve experienced the work of designer Daniel J. Fiel. He led the effort to unify the airport’s campus, working with prominent architects like Cesar Pelli, Bill Pedersen, and Shalom Baranes. Fiel also oversaw the 450,000-square-foot expansion of The Kennedy Center, an ambitious project that established a new education center, a Performing Arts Museum, and permanent backstage facilities for the Washington National Opera.

The delicate drafting tools Fiel used throughout his career are small in scale but immense in significance. With them, he shaped some of Washington, D.C.’s most iconic public spaces. Though these tools are difficult to store and catalog due to their size and fragility, they remain a vital part of the Museum’s collection, representing the hands-on craft at the heart of architectural design.