The Commons — National Air and Space Museum
The Commons, the central concourse and terraces connecting the west wing's renovated galleries at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, opened as part of the museum's west-wing reopening on October 14, 2022; exhibit design, interpretive and environmental graphics, and media design by PGAV Destinations, with generative data-visualization content by artist Refik Anadol.
| Venue | National Air and Space Museum |
|---|---|
| Project type | Major Renovation |
| Status | Completed |
| Year completed | 2022 |
| Technologies | large-format screens, generative/machine-learning data visualization |
Credits
| Firm | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|
| PGAV Destinations | Exhibit Design | |
| PGAV Destinations | Interpretive Planning | |
| PGAV Destinations | Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding | |
| PGAV Destinations | Media Design & Software | |
| refik-anadol-studio | Media Design & Software AI / Machine Learning | Machine-learning "data paintings" generated from the museum's archival photographs, in partnership with PGAV Destinations, per PGAV's own project page. |
Description
A concourse and gathering space spanning a footprint larger than two football fields, The Commons connects the museum's base-building architecture to its exhibit galleries and thematically links the west wing's renovated galleries into a single guest journey. Large-format screens throughout the space display stories about the museum's mission and collection, including a partnership with artist Refik Anadol, whose machine-learning algorithms generate abstract "data paintings" from the museum's archival photographs.
Sources
- https://pgavdestinations.com/project/the-commons-national-air-and-space-museum/
- https://pgavdestinations.com/news/smithsonian2018/
- https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-air-and-space-museum-reopens-eight-new-galleries-oct-14
- https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/national-air-and-space-museum-reopening-washington-dc-scn/index.html