HIRSHHORN MUSEUM SCULPTURE GARDEN REVITALIZATION

The revitalization project will connect the 1.5-acre garden on the National Mall with the 4-acre plaza surrounding the museum, which welcomes 1 million visitors annually. The project will address long-overdue repairs to infrastructure, increase the Hirshhorn’s display of modernist sculpture in the east garden by almost 50 percent, and honor the vision of landscape architect Lester Collins, who redesigned the garden in 1981, by expanding the number of native plantings in the garden by 70 percent, thus offering a 150 percent increase in shade and seating.

Sugimoto’s design accomplishes two important goals: making the Sculpture Garden more accessible and inviting to the 30 million people who pass it on the National Mall each year and offering flexible venues for the kinds of large-scale sculpture and time-based and performance works that are the hallmarks of contemporary art today.

Industry

Commercial

Sector

Culture and Museums

Client

The Smithsonian Institution

Architect

Hiroshi Sugimoto

General Contractor

ZEN Associates

Role

Construction Management