Hive installation
In April 2017, the National Building Museum of Washington D.C. revealed plans for a new interactive installation to be constructed in time for summer. Designed by the architecture and urban design practice Studio Gang, the 'Hive' installation will be the latest in a series of temporary structures in the historic Great Hall.
Hive will be constructed using 2,700 wound-paper tubes which will vary in size from several inches to 10 ft high. The tubes will be interlocked to create three dynamic interconnected, domed chambers. Reaching a height of 60 ft, the installation will fill the Great Hall, and the tallest dome will feature an oculus measuring more than 10 ft in diameter.
The paper material will be recyclable, lightweight and renewable, and will feature a reflective silver exterior and vivid magenta interior. This colouring will create a spectacular visual contrast with the 19th century Corinthian columns inside the museum.
The chambers will adopt a catenary shape, which will balance the structural forces, making them self-supporting. Visitors will be allowed into the installation at ground level and will be able to get a different perspective from the upper floor balconies.
Visitors will be invited to explore how a structure can modify sound, light, scale, and human interaction. Hive’s smaller chambers will promote organic, intimate encounters and play with tubular instruments ranging from simple drums to chimes suspended within the space. Each chamber will have unique acoustic properties that will affect the instruments’ tone, reverberation, and reflection as well as visitors’ perceptions.
Studio Gang founding principal Jeanne Gang said; “When you enter the Great Hall you almost feel like you’re in an outside space because of the distance sound travels before it is reflected back and made audible. We’ve designed a series of chambers shaped by sound that are ideally suited for intimate conversations and gatherings as well as performances and acoustic experimentation … we create a hive for these activities, bringing people together to explore and engage the senses.”
Complemented by a full schedule of concerts, tours, and talks, Hive will be open to the public July 4 to September 4, 2017.
Content and images courtesy Studio Gang.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Introducing or next Guest Editor Arun Baybars
Practising architect and design panel review member.
Quick summary by size, shape, test, material, use or bonding.
Types of rapidly renewable content
From forestry to agricultural crops and their by-products.
Terraced houses and the public realm
The discernible difference between the public realm of detached housing and of terraced housing.
Put digitalisation and sustainability at the core of curricula
Project management educators are urged.
Looking back at the influence of climate events
From a designer and writer: 'There are limits to growth but no limits to development'.
Terms, histories, theories and practice.
Biophilic design and natural light
Letting in the light and natural elements into spaces.
APM Programme Management Conference 2024
Strategies for Success.
Residential takes the reins as contract awards even out
Contracts down, but remain above the last quarter of 2023.
Celebrating Eid and the largest mud-brick building.
Barry Kingscote claims prestigious CIOB CMYA Award.
The British Mosque: an architectural and social history
The story of some 1,500 mosques or more in Britain.
Heat pump refrigerants, efficiencies and impacts
R12 to R1270 what are the differences?
Global heat pump market in 2023
Challenging times with positive but modest outlook.
Beyond the infrastructure pipeline
Opportunities and chokepoints.