Studio Gang's dazzling “Hive” installation to open at the National Building Museum this summer

The National Building Museum in Washington D.C. revealed the renderings of Studio Gang's anticipated 2017 Summer Block Party installation, which will be called the “Hive”. The installation marks the firm's latest collaboration with the Museum, following the 2003 “Masonry Variations” exhibition and the 2009 “Transforming Skylines and Communities” series.

Located in the Museum's Great Hall, the Hive will be made entirely of over 2,700 wound paper tubes whose heights will range from several inches to 10 feet tall. The tubes will be interlocked to create three interconnected, domed chambers, with the tallest dome reaching 60 feet high and featuring a 10-foot-diameter oculus. Every tube will have a reflective silver exterior and a vibrant magenta interior to create what seems like will be a dazzling environment.

People can gather at the larger main chamber for the Museum's summer events, or they can hang out in the smaller, intimate chambers where they can also play with tubular instruments like drums and suspended chimes. Each chamber will have unique acoustic properties to affect the instruments' tones and reverberation. 

“Using wound paper tubes, a common building material with unique sonic properties, and interlocking them to form a catenary dome, we create a hive for these activities, bringing people together to explore and engage the senses,” Jeanne Gang said in a statement. 

Opening on July 4, the Hive joins the Museum's playful collection of Summer Block Party installations, which includes the “BIG Maze” by BIG, the wildly successful “Beach” by Snarkitecture, and last year's “Icebergs” by James Corner Field Operations (all linked below).

Images courtesy of the National Building Museum.