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:

• Revitalization of the Castle (long building by curved road in below diagram), with expanded visitor services;
• 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:

1. To improve and expand visitor services and education,
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:

• Revitalization of the Castle, including replacement of its building systems and restoration and preservation of the Smithsonian’s oldest historic structure; seismic reinforcement is needed to bring the building to current codes and avoid damage in the future

Visitor Center Interior. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian

• The Hirshhorn Museum will be made more open and accessible to the Mall, and the museum will expand underground to provide additional gallery and public programs space

Hirschhorn. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian

• Replacement of the original roof of the quadrangle building under the Haupt Garden, which is nearing the end of its useful life; this roof is above the Ripley Center, Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art, and new light wells will allow daylight to light the underground complex for the first time

African Art lower level. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian

• Interior renovations and underground construction to support the Arts and Industries Building, once decisions are made regarding its long-term use
• 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.