Top 10 Places For American Contemporary Design You Should Visit
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The United States is home to some of the world’s best institutions for contemporary design, presenting innovative and ground-breaking exhibitions where form meets function for the common good. Take a look at our list of ten places to find exceptional collections and exhibitions of contemporary design in a variety of mediums, from national and international artists and visionaries.
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1. A+D Architecture and Design Museum
Building, Museum
2. Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design
Museum
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
After the long awaited completion of a lengthy restoration process, New York City’s Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum reopened to the public in December 2014. Devoted entirely to the exhibition of historical and contemporary design, the institution has operated out of Andrew Carnegie’s former Upper East Side residence since 1896. The new Cooper Hewitt pulls Carnegie’s grand Georgian estate into the 21st century, preserving the building’s traditional grandeur whilst showcasing the most cutting edge design technology. Accompanied by a uniquely interactive museum experience, visitors can explore a dynamic set of exhibitions, including Beautiful Users, which examines the integration of design into human life over the last five deades, and Making Design, which spans the museum’s extensive collection of over 210,000 objects.
![Anchored Candy no. 7](https://cdn.theculturetrip.com/images/56-3619651-1421928728cd044e2f2f9a4af2b3a34bf9d7fecb3d.jpg?s=10x)
3. Museum of Arts and Design
Museum
4. Museum of Contemporary Craft
Museum
![Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1992953.webp)
5. Museum of Design Atlanta
Museum
![Concept and initial design by Yuri Suzuki. Development and design by Dentaku Ltd of Mark McKeague, Joseph Pleass and Yuri Suzuki. Illustration by Naomi Eliott](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1992950.webp)
6. Museum of Modern Art
Art Gallery, Building, Museum, Opera House
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7. Rhode Island School of Design Museum
Museum, School
![56-262883-benefit-street-tour-](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/56-262883-benefit-street-tour-.webp)
8. Museum of Craft and Design
Museum
9. UC Davis Design Museum
Museum