Washington, D.C.
LEED NC Silver
AIA Committee on the Environment Top 10 Green Project, 2018
Museum, historic renovation
The design takes advantage of already-modified interior core light wells and attic space to accommodate new infrastructure; thus, avoiding impact to historic spaces.
The goal for the lighting design was for artworks and the building itself to appear to be the lighting source. This is achieved by an array of carefully tuned track lights with a wide range of beam angles and deep cutoffs so that the target of the light is the primary thing seen.
The team collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution’s in-house lighting designer to develop a kit of LED sources and filters that provides the complete range of lighting environments needed for an increasingly diverse range of exhibits. This was a major technological innovation that was used to support energy conservation.
Embracing the owner’s vision to exhibit new methods of art-making requiring robust, yet flexible structural and building systems, the Grand Salon now supports 80 tons of additional load. The space was also retrofitted with technology infrastructure to accommodate a wide variety of future digital media arts installations and special events.
Prior to the renovation, equipment was generally difficult to access and challenging to maintain. Careful placement of equipment allowed the team to avoid changing the volume of the building while accommodating a new boiler plant, air-handling units, and facility storage. Color coding of all piping jacketing allows greater clarity for system maintenance.
Good museum lighting is all about the control of light. For this project, our goal was to be among the earliest museums lit entirely by LED sources. So, we set out to develop a custom family of LED fixtures that would meet all the requirements of a museum-grade lighting system.
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William Corcoran was so passionate about his intention for the building he commissioned on Lafayette Square that he had it chiseled in stone above its entryway: “DEDICATED TO ART.” Though prevailing tastes of the day looked to Europe for creative achievement, Corcoran felt that his collection, and the art of his young country, was ready for its own venue. Accidentally Wes Anderson covers the story behind this first-of-its-kind place for the arts.
Read MoreThis holiday season, we’re gathering with friends new and old for our very first giveaway! In collaboration with Accidentally Wes Anderson and Oh! You Pretty Things cookies, three winners will receive custom cookie decorating kits to create some magic of their own. Inspired by bringing design into homes in a fun and unique way, this is an opportunity for friends and family to be creative together.
See the kits in action and enter the giveaway on our Instagram.
We fully embrace our responsibility to society by designing spaces that emphasize academic learning and social development.
Click on any of these highlights to learn about our higher education projects, including spotlights on science+technology, campus planning and space strategies, student engagement and wellbeing, CTE and STEM, and thought leadership. Questions? Connect with our team now.
Click on any of these highlights to directly learn about our museums, campus arts work, historic theaters, amphitheaters + performing arts venues, thought leadership, and key contact information.
