National Air and Space Museum
- Architect
- HOK
- Year
- 1976
- Style
- International Style
- City
- Washington, DC
The National Air and Space Museum opened in 1976, designed by the firm HOK in the International Style as a monumental, modular presence along the National Mall. Its marble-and-glass bays gave the Smithsonian an innovative program for displaying full-size aircraft and spacecraft behind a uniform, museum-scaled facade.
the building
Modular marble-and-glass bays. The building's facade is organized into a rhythm of alternating solid marble blocks and glass-enclosed bays, a modular system that let the museum stack cavernous exhibition halls large enough for aircraft and rockets behind a disciplined street front.
the style
Designed in the International Style, the museum trades historicist Mall monumentality for a plain, modular geometry of stone and glass, reflecting the era's faith in rational, unornamented planning even on ceremonial ground.
More on International Stylenearby
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building
- National Museum of the American Indian
- National Gallery of Art
- Arts and Industries Building, Smithsonian Institution (National Museum)
- East Building of the National Gallery of Art