Smithsonian Institution Overhaul Museum Automatic translate

WASHINGTON: The Smithsonian Institution today unveiled a reconstruction plan for the South Campus. The $ 2 billion project was developed by the Bjarke Ingels Group architectural bureau. As planned by the authors, the overhaul will include: a comprehensive reconstruction of the castle, with the strengthening of its foundation and the expansion of underground facilities; the construction of ground visitor service areas for the National Museum of African Art and the Arthur Sackler Gallery, which are now completely underground; improving visibility and access to the Freer Art Gallery and the Hirschhorn Garden Museum.

The proposed plan will be implemented within 10-20 years, starting in 2016. The reconstruction has three main goals: to improve and expand the areas for visitors, to create visible entrances and convenient passages by museums and gardens, and to replace the outdated building systems whose life has ended.

A central place in the master plan proposed for the South Campus is the revival of the famous Smithsonian Castle. Built in 1855, the castle is currently an information center for visitors and the headquarters of the institution. The plan includes the restoration of the historic large hall, which was divided with the help of partitions that cut its area into almost half, and the creation of two levels of underground space to serve visitors. For one of the levels already developed shop interior and cafes from which you can immediately get to the Enid A. Haupt Garden and the Ripley Center located underground. In general, the Bjarke Ingels Group plan will make the Smithsonian Institutes museums more open, convenient, and attractive to visitors.

“It is a great honor and challenge to reconstruct one of the most significant American institutions,” said Bjarke Ingels, head of the Bjarke Ingels Group. “We conceived the South Campus master plan as an example of a radical rethinking. To eliminate the contradictions between the old and the new, and to find freedom within the framework of strict regulation and preservation of historical monuments, we decided to carefully rethink the elements that are already on the campus. Thanks to the establishment of new links between various technical, programmatic and curatorial requirements, we have created a new landscape that contains the potential to preserve the Smithsonian Institution’s heritage in the future. ”

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru