BIG Plans for Smithsonian's South Mall Campus
John Hill
14. November 2014
Aerial at night. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian has unveiled BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group's proposed master plan for the institution's Washington, D.C. South Mall campus, made up of the museums and gardens along Independence Avenue S.W., from Seventh to 12th streets.
As described in a 13 November press release from the Smithsonian, BIG's comprehensive plan includes:
• New Mall-facing entrances to the National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (two small buildings across Haupt Garden from Castle);
• Improved visibility and access from the Freer Gallery of Art (building at bottom-left) to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (donut-shaped building at top).
Further, the proposal has three primary goals:
2. To create clear entrances and connections between the museums and gardens,
3. To replace aging building mechanical systems that have reached the end of their lifespan.
Overview Diagram. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
Some of the master plan's proposed projects include, per the Smithsonian:
Visitor Center Interior. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
Visitor Center Interior. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
Hirschhorn. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
African Art lower level. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
• Mechanical systems of buildings built in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Hirshhorn Museum (1974) and the quadrangle (1987), are reaching the end of their useful life and require replacement
• Above-ground and underground connections will be made between the buildings and the gardens running east-west along Independence Avenue
View from Independence Avenue. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
Sackler Gallery. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian
The ambitious master plan is reminiscent of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro's work at Lincoln Center in New York City, which consists of smaller interventions that maintain the character of the mid-20th-century assemblage. Likewise, Bjarke Ingels describes their proposal as "an example of radical reinterpretation" that "carefully reinterpret[s] the elements that are already present in the campus" to "resolve the contradictions between old and new, and to find freedom within the boundaries of strict regulation and historical preservation." The project, which has an initial price tag of $2 billion, aims to take form over a 10-to-20-year period starting in 2016, pending approval by the National Capital Planning Commission.