The Smithsonian Institution has chosen Chicago-based architectural firm Perkins&Will to design what may prove to be the most dazzling addition in a decade to the National Mall in Washington, DC: the Bezos Learning Center at National Air and Space Museum (NASM). The new complex will be funded by a $200 million gift from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to the Smithsonian, $70 million of which went to renovating existing NASM facilities, with the remaining $130 million going to a new education center on the eastern flank of the museum. .
Perkins & Will’s proposal for the site was one of five shortlisted by the Smithsonian last september, although at the time the companies behind each design were not publicly identified. Early renderings of Perkins&Will’s project depicted a complex defined by swooping, swirling forms inspired by the Milky Way. Early renders represent only the company’s proposed approach to the project; they will now begin the process of designing the complex. Construction is expected to begin in 2025, with an expected opening in 2027.
The company knows the strict design constraints of working on the National Mall – it helped design and build the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Other institutional projects of the firm include the Peggy Notebaert Museum of Nature in Chicago, the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, UK, and the Bell Museum at the University of Minnesota in St Paul.
“Having worked with the architects behind the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I understand how important a building’s design is to its mission, functionality, character, and ability to engage the people who walk through its doors,” Lonnie G. Bunch, the Smithsonian’s secretary, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the architects at Perkins & Will on the design of the Bezos Learning Center to produce another unique Smithsonian landmark on the National Mall that will expand and enhance our educational impact.”
The Bezos Learning Center will rise on a site previously occupied by a glass pavilion designed by architect Gyo Obata, which housed a restaurant. It was demolished last winter. The Bezos Learning Center will also house a restaurant, in addition to educational facilities.
The futuristic new wing of the Smithsonian’s most popular museum is just one of many construction projects underway for the institution. Last October, he revealed the two sites where he hopes to build new museums, the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum.
