Original Construction
1881
Completion Date
2001
Size
168,500 sqft

The Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building was constructed as the first home of the National Museum and remains a prominent historic landmark on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall. Organized around a central rotunda in a Greek Cross plan, the building features four major exhibition halls arranged in nearly symmetrical quadrants, with historic courts and connecting ranges. Its distinctive architectural character is expressed through articulated brick façades, corbelled eaves, corner pavilions, central entrance towers, and steeply pitched pyramidal roofs. The building’s restoration and adaptive reuse sought to preserve these defining features while accommodating contemporary museum functions, including gallery spaces, educational classrooms and laboratories, visitor services, and expanded building support facilities.

SmithGroupJJR’s Building Technology Studio, the predecessor team to HopkinsBurns, contributed specialized preservation and building enclosure expertise to the restoration. The team conducted a comprehensive condition assessment of the building envelope to inform the project’s phased restoration. SmithGroupJJR also led the design team responsible for repairing and seismically upgrading the historic mass masonry exterior walls and developed plans to restore the original courts, which had been filled with mechanical systems during previous renovations. The broader project incorporated a 40,000-square-foot underground service wing accommodating loading facilities, modern mechanical systems, and administrative support spaces. These interventions balanced the preservation of the building’s historic fabric and architectural integrity with the technical, operational, and infrastructure requirements of a contemporary museum.