February 28, 2011
An Award for the Yet-to-Be-Built Hirshhorn Bubble

The award-winning bubble design structure at the Hirshhorn Museum. Image courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro
It’s awards season, and, as such, it’s only fitting that one of the Smithsonian museum’s most innovative construction projects gets recognized. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has been honored by Architect, the magazine of the American Institute of Architects, for its seasonal expansion project—a translucent inflatable bubble structure—designed by the New York architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
This year’s judges decided that the 58th Annual Progressive Architecture Awards should “return to the program’s original purpose: identifying projects that push the envelope of progessive design, regardless of the building type.” One of two awardees, the Hirshhorn bubble, a temporary 14,000-square-foot space designed to increase public engagement through its educational programming and creative use of space, fits the bill.
“In terms of the innovation, the freshness of the idea, the sustainable aspects, and the presentation, it’s just delicious,” juror Dan Rockhill enthused, according to Architect.
Updates to the structure’s design can be seen on the museum’s web site.
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with respect i must admit\that when it come to structural design evaluation museum structural design and it;s perfect harmony in it’s structure could not be matched with any other forms of building .and to add a bit of texture in to museum design could not be compared with any other unique designs and to prove id just to have a closer look in to the museum structure.
i would like congradulate smithsonian museum for their achivements
best of wishes from Mehran Shfaghi Rad