Smithsonian art museum’s courtyard by Norman Foster
From the heart of Washington, today we visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, home to the nation’s collection of presidential portraits, including the iconic portrait of Barack Obama.
The courtyard shared by both museums, once open to the sky, was transformed by Norman Foster through a flowing glass canopy, creating a remarkable indoor oasis designed to be enjoyed as an extension of the museum experience, beyond the exhibition galleries themselves.
In this spectacular space, fountains and trees take center stage, while beneath their shade, Gas chairs provide the perfect place to enjoy a coffee or lose yourself in a book.
We are delighted to see how the Gas chair, designed by Jesús Gasca more than twenty-five years ago, continues to evolve and find its place in such iconic projects as this one.
The Smithsonian Institution occupies the former United States Patent Building, once described by the poet Walt Whitman as ‘the noblest of Washington buildings’. Built between 1836 and 1867, the Patent Building is the finest example of Greek Revival architecture in the United States and a celebrated part of the capital’s urban fabric. Now designated as a National Historic Landmark, the building was rescued from impending demolition in 1958 by President Eisenhower, who transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution for use as the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The enclosure of the building’s grand central courtyard was prompted by a desire to transform the public’s experience of the Smithsonian’s galleries and provide the Institution with one of the largest event spaces in Washington.
The space has become a plaza for visitors of the Musem and locals that want some quality time.
This a true space, a space full of life every day, a space that requires a durable strong chair with style.
The enclosed courtyard forms the centrepiece of this retrofit project, which also included the redesign of the galleries with contemporary interactive displays, the addition of a conservation laboratory, an auditorium and greatly increased exhibition space. Visitors can enter the surrounding galleries from the courtyard, and out of museum hours the space regularly hosts a variety of social events, including concerts and public performances. Designed to do ‘the most with the least’, the fluid-form, fully glazed roof canopy develops structural and environmental themes first explored in the design of the roof of the Great Court at the British Museum, bathing the courtyard with natural light.
Gas armchair
