Washington D.C., USA
In three distinct galleries, Studio Joseph creates a Welcome Center for the National Building Building in Washington D.C.as a friendly, engaging introduction to the wide range of topics it covers.
The Welcome Center for the National Building Museum has recently been awarded a 2022 Green Good Design Award and a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The educational objective is on the awareness of global warming and humanity’s carbon footprint through content delivery and design fabrication itself.
The designers were well aware of the impact that we have on our planet as we construct landscapes, buildings, and infrastructure, yet the public is aware of this impact.
The galleries address this decision-making process with stories showing commitment to taking action for ecological thinking and resiliency.
Gallery 1 provides ticketing and information for all visitors and is a comfortable place for gathering.
The casework draws from the museum’s collection with an emphasis on sustainable materials.
Displayed here are toys, models, and measures that we all use and play with from our childhood, driving forward the idea that we are all makers and responsible parts of the process.
Gallery 2 explores the built environment with a broad range of places and spaces people have created to support human activity, from landscapes to simple structures and public spaces, to vast metropolises.
The visitor learns about the transformative ideas and technologies constantly reshaping the places we inhabit.
The table utilizes graphic robotics; the skylines of diverse American cities become bar graphs of light that explore issues such as transportation, housing, ecology, and resiliency.
Gallery 3 focuses on raw and manufactured materials used for building construction.
Material selection determines how structures look, feel, and react to their local conditions.
With an emphasis on exploring texture, the projects on display deploy materials that give visitors the chance to explore why and how different natural, synthetic, and repurposed products impact the environment.
The designers talk straightforwardly about what drives the process and options for conservation: such as, what do they consider in choosing materials or making plans?
The designers speak strongly about new ideas for reducing one’s carbon footprint.
By demystifying the construction industry, the community is invited to the table, not as observers but as participants.
For the project, the designers believed in starting early and worked with the museum to make it a fun, dynamic place for all visitors to start asking questions.
Project: The Welcome Center – National Building Museum
Architects: Studio Joseph
Client: National Building Museum
Photographers: Yassine El Mansouri
