After years of public comment and close collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has revealed its revised proposal for the Smithsonian Campus master plan in Washington, D.C.
The roughly 17-acre site includes the Castle, the Arts and Industries Building, the Freer Gallery, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the mostly subterranean Quadrangle Building, which is home to the National Museum of African Art, the Sackler Gallery of Art and the S. Dillon Ripley Center.
Rendering courtesy of BIG and Brick Visual.
The revised plan reflects the team’s commitment to preserving the character of the Haupt Garden while addressing existing and future needs of the cultural institution. “Since our last proposal, we’ve been listening very closely to the public. We wanted the general feeling and fondness for the Haupt Garden to remain the same while also increasing its enjoyment and use, offering educational elements and after hour programs,” said Bjarke Ingels in a speech given to members of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), local decision makers, and residents and garden enthusiasts.
Rendering courtesy of BIG and Brick Visual.
The new proposal also makes the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery more accessible. These areas were hidden beneath the garden and have been “under-enjoyed compared to the value they represent,” according to Ingels.
The new master plan will attempt to improve existing facilities by creating an expanded Visitor Center and a new Education Space, creating clear connections, access points, and visibility between the museums and gardens by reconfiguring the entrance pavilions to the African Art Museum and Sackler Gallery, and replacing aging building mechanical systems, including structural reinforcements of the Castle to withstand potential seismic activity.
Rendering courtesy of BIG and Brick Visual.
The first stage of the plan, the renovation of the Castle, is expected to begin in 2021.
Rendering courtesy of BIG and Brick Visual.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 20, 2022
Top 180 Architecture Firms for 2022
Gensler, Perkins and Will, HKS, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 19, 2022
2022 Giants 400 Report: Tracking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now 46 years running, Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report rankings the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. This year a record 519 AEC firms participated in BD+C's Giants 400 report. The final report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Cultural Facilities | Aug 5, 2022
A time and a place: Telling American stories through architecture
As the United States enters the year 2026, it will commence celebrating a cycle of Sestercentennials, or 250th anniversaries, of historic and cultural events across the land.
Museums | Jun 28, 2022
The California Science Center breaks grounds on its Air and Space Center
The California Science Center—a hands-on science center in Los Angeles—recently broke ground on its Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
Headquarters | Jun 21, 2022
Walmart combines fitness and wellness in associates’ center that’s part of its new Home Office plan
Duda | Paine’s design leads visitors on a “journey.”
Cultural Facilities | Jun 15, 2022
Gehry-designed Children’s Institute aims to foster community outreach in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood
The Children’s Institute (CII) in Los Angeles will open a 200,000-sf campus designed by Frank Gehry this summer.
Cultural Facilities | Jun 10, 2022
After 10 Years, Taiwan’s new Taipei Music Center Reaches the Finish Line
RUR Architecture has finished the Taipei Music Center (TMC), turning a 22-acre (9-hectare) site into a new urban arts district.
Projects | Mar 24, 2022
A Hollywood home for creatives
A Hollywood development will serve as a collaborative center for artists, students, and those in the entertainment industry.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 10, 2022
A ‘reimagined’ David Geffen Hall in New York is on track to open this fall
Its half-billion-dollar reconstruction is positioning this performance space as an integral key to luring people to the city again.
Performing Arts Centers | Mar 8, 2022
Cincinnati Ballet’s new center embodies the idea that dance is for everyone
Cincinnati Ballet had become a victim of its own success, according to company president and CEO Scott Altman. “We were bursting at the seams in our old building. We had simply outgrown the facility,” Altman told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
