Last summer, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels turned the National Building Museum’s Great Hall into an enormous maze that entertained the young and young-at-heart for hours. In November, he revealed an ambitious plan to overhaul the Smithsonian’s south campus by renovating the Castle and creating new, light-filled entrances to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and National Museum of African Art. Ingels’ inventive, whimsical design aesthetic has made him one of the world’s most in-demand architects; now, the Building Museum offers visitors a glimpse at how climate change concerns factor into his buildings around the world. In the exhibition, viewers can check out photos of the Lego House (pictured), an in-construction building near the toy company’s Billund, Denmark headquarters, as well a new high-rise apartment building on New York’s West 57th Street. The designs are so imaginative that you might be inspired to create something of your own in the museum’s Building Zone. The exhibition is on view Mondays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. $3–$8. (202) 272-2448. nbm.org.
“Hot to Cold” at National Building Museum
Saturday, Jan. 24
