Smithsonian Institution Building, Washington DC Architecture Master Plan, Architect, Photos
Smithsonian Institution Master Plan
Washington DC Arts Development, United States of America: Petition News – design by BIG
Jan 22, 2018
Smithsonian Institution South Mall Campus Masterplan Update
Design: BIG architects
Smithsonian Institution South Mall Campus Masterplan
Apr 12, 2016
Smithsonian Institution Master Plan Controversy
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA
Design: BIG architects
Smithsonian Institution Master Plan Petition
Nearly 1,400 people have signed a petition in opposition to Bjarke Ingels Group’s proposal to demolish a portion of the Smithsonian Institution campus in Washington, DC, reports Dezeen.
A concerned citizen started an online petition on 5 April 2016 in an effort to halt or at least modify the plans regarding the Smithsonian’s Enid A Haupt Garden, which would be razed to make way for a new plaza.
The petition garnered 500 signatures within two days, according to Curbed. As of today, it has around 1,500 signatories.
In March a former curator for the Smithsonian Institution, James M Goode, also criticised BIG’s plan in an editorial for The Washington Post.
He described the garden as “one of Washington’s most beloved outdoor spaces” and “one of the few peaceful and contemplative places on the Mall. Bjarke Ingels’s replacement is a wasteland of skylights reminiscent of a regional shopping mall,” he wrote. “The erupting ‘swoops’ of turf, glass and steel lack respect for the surrounding historic buildings. Peaceful and contemplative are replaced with arid, windswept and unfriendly.”
The petitions page states, “If you’ve entered the Smithsonian Institution from Independence Ave., you’ve probably enjoyed the Enid Haupt Garden. The Haupt Garden is a small jewel in the National Mall and a real oasis for both tourists and residents alike.
An important component of the Smithsonian Institution’s proposed “South Mall Campus Master Plan” is to completely demolish the Enid Haupt Garden; the existing entrance pavilions to the National Museum of African Art, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the S. Dillon Ripley International Center; and the Renwick Gates and Walls at the south edge of the Haupt Garden.”
Website: Smithsonian Institution Enid Haupt Garden Petition – www.ipetitions.com link
13 Mar 2013
Smithsonian Institution Master Plan Design by BIG
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Design: BIG
BIG IS SELECTED TO DESIGN THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION MASTER PLAN IN WASHINGTON D.C, USA
BIG leading a Core Design Team including Surface Design, Traceries and Robert Silman Associates, further supported by Atelier Ten, GHT Limited, Wiles Mensch, Weidlinger Associates, VJ Associates, Protection Engineering Group and FDS Design Studio is today officially announced as the winning team to rethink the historic Smithsonian campus, world’s largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities.
photo from architect
Located at the south side of the National Mall in Washington DC, the 160-year-old cultural campus including 11 of the renowned institution’s museums and the Smithsonian Castle from 1855, is in need of being refreshed and re-connected to its adjacent buildings and the public realm. The Smithsonian envisions the winning team of the $2.4 million contract to draft the first phase of the master plan, creating a gateway that invites visitors to learn, experience and navigate seamlessly through the Smithsonian buildings and gardens.
“BIG designs are innovative, analytical, unexpected and intelligent. We believe they can develop a plan that will enable us over the next decade to transform a disparate group of much-loved buildings and outdoor spaces into a place that is more dynamic, social and active.”
Christopher Lethbridge, Smithsonian Institution.
BIGs design seeks to reinstate the original Castle as the cornerstone building and the symbolic home of the Smithsonian Institution to serve as a welcoming entry point and an information hub for the visitors. The currently hidden Central Garden is to be reconnected to the National Mall by creating a striking grand entrance for the Castle and adjacent Museums.
“It’s a great honor and a humbling challenge to be invited to reimagine one of the most significant American institutions on the front lawn of the nation’s capital. The abundance of historical heritage, the diversity of architectural languages and the cacophony of exhibits are tied together by a labyrinthine network of spaces above and below ground – inside and outside. Our task is to explore the collections with The Smithsonian and together attempt to untie the Gordian Knot of intertwined collections to unearth the full potential of this treasure chamber of artifacts.”
Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.
The vision is to also include an entrance from the Central Garden providing access to a subterranean museum network which connects more than four museums in a maze of underground galleries, tunnels and annexes. Large public voids tunneling from collection to collection, space to space simplify and reorganize the existing condition below ground, improving the connectivity and access to the underground spaces. As the visitors descend down the lower levels from the corner entry, they are able to see and enjoy all the levels of the museum at once.
The first phase of the Smithsonian Campus Master Plan is expected to be delivered in the next 12 months.
photo from architect
Smithsonian Institution Masterplan – Building Information
Size: 700,000 Square Feet
Client: Smithsonian Institution
Collaborators: Surface Design (landscape), Traceries (historic preservation), Robert Silman Associates (structural), Atelier Ten (sustainability), GHT Limited (MEP), Wiles Mensch (civil), Weidlinger Associates (security/anti-terrorism)
VJ Associates (cost), Protection Engineering Group (fire/life safety), FDS Design Studio (food services)
Location: Washington D.C., USA
Status: Concept
Partner in Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen
Project Leader: Daniel Kidd
Project Manager: Ziad Shebab
Team: Suemin Jeon
Smithsonian Institution Master Plan images / information from BIG
Location: Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., USA
Smithsonian Institution – Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
2004-07
Design: Foster & Partners ; Co-architects: Smith Group Inc.
photos : Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
Smithsonian Institute
Smithsonian Institution Courtyard design : Foster + Partners
Washington, D.C. Architecture
photo © Anice Hoachlander
Newseum Washington DC
picture : Eric Taylor © EricTaylorPhoto.com
Union Square National Mall Washington DC
image Courtesy of GGN, © Methanoia
Smithsonian Institution architects : Foster + Partners
Washington DC Embassy Building
Comments / photos for the Smithsonian Institution Master Plan Washington DC page welcome
Website: Smithsonian Institution