National Building Museum Reopens With New Offerings for Visitors

As the COVID-19 vaccines and vaccinations continue to make an impact across the country, many places are opening up. One of them is the National Building Museum which will reopen in April. The museum has several offerings for visitors as it awaits the arrival of its President and Executive Director.

BY ARTCENTRON

WASHINGTON, D.C.—After 16-month because of restoration work and the COVID-19 pandemic, National Building Museum will reopen in April. starting Friday, April 9, 2021, the Museum will once again welcome everyone to experience stories about the structures, interiors, and landscapes that we design and build.

In its 41st year as the only U.S. cultural institution dedicated to the built environment, the museum will present guests and visitors with new offerings. One of such offerings is an exhibition about a nonprofit architecture firm leading the way in designs for health, well-being, and justice. Other offerings include a memorial dedicated to victims of gun violence; the work of an architectural photography master; and a Visitor Center that introduces the public to the institution and its mission.

Masks are required for all visitors at all times, and the Museum is following all D.C. government COVID guidelines regarding visitor capacity. Although the museum is reopening, its public programs will remain online as they have been for the past year. This will help the museum remain in compliance until the city’s rules on the size of indoor gatherings allow for in-person events.

The reopening paves the way for the new incoming President and Executive Director Aileen Fuchs.  She takes over from Executive Director Chase Rynd, Hon. ASLA, who retired in June 2020.  Fuchs is currently the President and CEO of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, on Staten Island, New York. Aileen Fuchs will join the institution on May 5.

In the interim, Executive Director Brent Glass has been holding forth. “The National Building Museum is reopening with new leadership and an impressive lineup of exhibitions,” said Glass.

Like many others, Glass is excited that the   National Building Museum is reopening to the public.

“We are delighted that the public can return to our home in the historic Pension Building and again experience the extraordinary Great Hall, one of Washington’s most important interior spaces,” he said.

The National Building Museum is doing everything to make the reopening eventful for guests and visitors. Three new exhibitions that are timely, important, and beautiful will be on at the museum when it opens in April. The show will complement ongoing exhibitions House & Home and Animals and Collected. Here are the three new exhibitions:

Justice is Beauty: The Work of MASS Design Group

This is one of the projects visitors to the National Building Museum will experience when it reopens in April. It showcases the work of Mass Design Group, a nonprofit architecture firm. The work of the group focuses on public health, personal well-being, and human dignity. In the last ten years, the grove has paved the way in designing health structures that manage disease outbreaks such as tuberculosis, cholera, and Ebola. Other innovative projects the Group has been involved in include schools, prison design alternatives, food-conservation labs, urban space designs, and memorials to commemorate civil injustices. The show will run through September 2022.

Gun Violence Memorial Project

This project is in conjunction with Justice is Beauty.  This show is particularly relevant with all the gun violence happening around the country.  Gun Violence Memorial Project is an architectural space of memory and healing. It consists of four glass-brick houses that are filled with remembrance objects collected from immediate families whose loved ones were killed by gun violence. The project pays tribute to the thousands of lives taken by gun violence in the U.S. each year.  It was designed by MASS Design Group and conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas. The Gun Violence Memorial Project was developed in partnership with the gun violence prevention organizations Purpose Over Pain and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. The memorial will be on display through September 2022. This exhibition is free—no ticket purchase required.

Alan Karchmer: The Architects’ Photographer