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The Line of Least Resistance
November 18, 2010
In many ways Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s—now on view at the National Building Museum—is an exhibition about exhibiting. The designers and architects whose work is explored in the Museum were engaged in a decade-long project whose legacies are with us today. That project revolved around the question and its often successful resolution of how, in the midst of the Great Depression, to assure the American public of the certainty of a brighter tomorrow. In part, their answer was to present an image of industry and industrial production that was visionary not only in the future it foretold characterized by the proliferation of affordable, available, commercial products and services, but also in the design strategies deployed to turn ideas and concepts into visitor experiences.
Design Apprenticeship Program Final Presentation Media Advisory
November 16, 2010
Young designers in the fall 2010 Design Apprenticeship Program focused on building blocks and how they are used to create spaces. These teen participants designed and built chairs using one of the many building blocks they explored during the program. Through a series of hands-on exercises participants explored the configurations of various modular building blocks such as wood, bricks, or tiles. Students visited Daniel Donnelly Modern Design Studio to learn more about furniture design before dividing into teams to complete their chair design challenge. Volunteer design professionals worked closely with participants to help develop the students’ design skills. During the final presentation, students will discuss their design process and their final projects will be on display.
The National Building Museum Launches Intelligent Cities Initiative to Gather Data and Reveal New Insights about Urban Life
November 15, 2010
With these questions, the National Building Museum launches Intelligent Cities, a year-long initiative driven by the concept that informed people make better decisions. Toward that end, the initiative will produce data, analysis, and ideas on how new technologies are shaping cities and present this information in new and revealing ways. We will encourage bold and provocative thinking on the part of experts and the public about how to make our cities thrive. Intelligent Cities is a National Building Museum project in partnership with TIME, supported by IBM, and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
National Building Museum Awards Vincent Scully Prize to International Design Advocate Adele Chatfield-Taylor on November 8, 2010: Media Advisory
November 2, 2010
The National Building Museum will present its twelfth Vincent Scully Prize to Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president of the American Academy in Rome, on November 8, 2010 at the National Building Museum. The National Building Museum has selected Adele Chatfield-Taylor to receive its prestigious Vincent Scully Prize for her notable work encouraging excellence in the design world while ensuring that planning, architecture, and preservation remain relevant and connected to the public. During the presentation Ms. Chatfield-Taylor will present an original talk on historic preservation and the American Academy in Rome in the 21st century.
Remembering our vets with a historic building tour: Media Advisory
November 2, 2010
This Veterans Day, the National Building Museum will be offering special tours of its historic home. Originally built in the 1880s as an office for the U.S. Pension Bureau, architect Montgomery C. Meigs designed this spectacular building with veterans in mind. Visitors will learn about the history of the pension building, as well as architectural features designed not only to honor the brave fighters of the Civil War, but accommodate the wounded veterans as they navigated the building to collect their pensions.
Spotlight on Design Lecture with Argentina-born architect Cesar Pelli: Media Advisory
October 28, 2010
Argentina-born architect Cesar Pelli, FAIA, whose firm Pelli Clarke Pelli designed the soon-to-be-built National Children’s Museum (NCM) at National Harbor, is joined by NCM president and CEO Kathy Dwyer Southern to discuss the unique opportunities in creating a landmark cultural center. G. Martin Moeller, Jr., the National Building Museum’s senior vice president and curator, moderates. This program is presented with the Smithsonian Latino Center, as part of the series Argentina at the Smithsonian 2010. 1.5 LU (AIA)
21st Century World’s Fairs: Media Advisory
October 20, 2010
What is the relevancy of world's fairs of today? Panelists consider the past, present, and future of world expositions, and the significance of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. This program complements the exhibition Designing Tomorrow: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s, which will be open prior to the lecture.
Peter Bohlin Lecture: Media Advisory
October 13, 2010
For the architecture firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackskon, the poignancy of nature serves as inspiration for visually rich and emotionally powerful architecture. Founding principal Peter Bohlin, FAIA, recipient of the American Institute of Architects 2010 Gold Medal, discusses his firm’s work, including residential, civic, and cultural buildings.
Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey: Media Advisory
October 6, 2010
In conjunction with the Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey exhibition currently on view, the National Building Museum has developed related public and family programs that will begin in the fall of 2010 and run through the end of the exhibition.
Festival of the Building Arts: Media Advisory
October 5, 2010
Celebrate the past and envision the future at the 2010 Festival of the Building Arts at the National Building Museum. Work side by side with architects, builders, designers, artisans, and trades people as they demonstrate their skills.
Laura Bush Visits Palladio's Legacy
October 1, 2010
Laura Bush attends the opening of the exhibition Palladio's Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey.
Building the Next Generation
September 23, 2010
The National Building Museum continues to celebrate its 30th Anniversary with a special series in National Building Museum Online. This month, we’re proud to feature an interview with a former student of two Museum outreach programs: the Design Apprenticeship Program and Investigating Where We Live. Claire Lorman is now a junior at Savannah College of Art and Design studying Industrial Design. Recently we sat down with Claire to learn more about how the Museum’s programs impacted her life.
Peter Bohlin, FAIA: Designing the Seemingly Inevitable
September 23, 2010
Peter Bohlin, FAIA, founding principal of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, joins the National Building Museum on October 19 for the Spotlight on Design lecture series. Humble yet decisive, innovative yet respectful of the value of tradition, Bohlin has produced a substantial body of timeless works. National Building Museum Online contributor Andrew Caruso met with Bohlin to discuss his approach to design.
Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey
September 23, 2010
The National Building Museum has the rare privilege of exhibiting a collection of original drawings by Andrea Palladio (1508-80), widely regarded as the western world’s most significant architect. In this interview, Calder Loth, senior architectural historian with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, traces Palladio’s influence on American architecture.
National Building Museum Names Adele Chatfield-Taylor as the Twelfth Laureate of the Vincent Scully Prize
September 15, 2010
The National Building Museum will present its twelfth Vincent Scully Prize to Adele Chatfield-Taylor, president of the American Academy in Rome, on November 8, 2010 at the National Building Museum. In announcing her selection, members of the Vincent Scully jury—jury chair David Schwarz, Deborah Berke, Ned Cramer, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk—noted that through a variety of positions in her career, Ms. Chatfield-Taylor has consistently promoted excellence in the design world, while ensuring that the planning, architecture, and historic preservation disciplines remain connected to the public.
