The Firm Behind New York’s High Line Park Will Design the National Building Museum’s 2016 Summer Block Party Installation

Urban design and landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations has been assigned the task of planning the National Building Museum’s summer installation for 2016. This exhibit will arrive on the heels of summer 2015’s “Beach” installation, which filled the museum’s Great Hall with thousands of plastic balls from July 4 through Labor Day 2015, entertaining over 180,000 visitors.

Though the “Beach” is a tough act to follow–its overwhelming popularity caused the National Building Museum to cut off online ticket sales–James Corner Field Operations might be the firm to match it. As the practice behind New York City’s lauded High Line park, the Battersea Roof Gardens in London, and the Race Street Pier in Philadelphia, their experience with urbanized landscape architecture should fit in right in with the National Building Museum’s Summer Block Party exhibitions, which have included Mini Golf, a BIG Maze, and the “Beach” in the past.

“We are very excited about this opportunity to once again transform the Great Hall for summer spectacle and pleasure,” said James Corner, founder of James Corner Field Operations, in a press release. “It will be a great challenge to surpass the genius of previous installations, but also an opportunity to explore something new and unexpected.”

Design is still in early stages, but exhibitors say the installation will present “innovative, interactive experiences that experiment with new way of seeing and understanding the built environment.” The National Building Museum plans to release more information about the installation in the spring.

Caroline Cunningham

Associate Editor

Caroline Cunningham joined Washingtonian in 2014 after moving to the DC area from Cincinnati, where she interned and freelanced for Cincinnati Magazine and worked in content marketing. She currently resides in College Park.