Commercial Architecture June 2018 - 20

FEATURE

museums
Bible was conceived, programmed, and designed as a more ambitious
and flexible institution.
Long-term, permanent exhibitions occupy the majority of floor
space within the original structure, but the project includes a variety
of additional gallery spaces accommodating displays from visiting
institutions, such as the Vatican Library and the Israeli Antiquities
Authority, effectually creating museums within a museum. In addition, an unusually large number of theaters-12 in all-offer a broad
range of experiences, from informational films to an interactive experience in which visitors "fly" over sites of biblical significance in
and around Washington.
The museum also includes spaces for donor retention and development, a rare-manuscript library, a conference facility with simultaneous-translation capabilities, a broadcast studio, and hotel rooms
for visiting scholars. Given the breadth of such functions, the Museum of the Bible may be regarded not so much as a singular museum
but as a one-building campus of interrelated facilities.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Situated at the intersection of D and 4th streets in Washington, the
museum strategic location links the National Mall and major cultural landmarks with Southwest Washington, further invigorating this
historic and rapidly transforming quadrant of the city.
The project's dense urban surroundings-with CSX trains to the
south, an active government office building to the east, and an underground Metro rail line to the north- added myriad coordination,
logistical, and safety challenges to an already complicated construction process. To address these complexities, Clark and SmithGroupJJR teams worked closely with nearly a dozen outside agencies-from the Commission of Fine Arts and the Historic Preservation
Review Board to the Washington Area Transit Authority and CSX
Transportation-to ensure the project moved forward with proper
stakeholder input and approvals.
DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION

Construction was performed in two existing buildings encompassing
a full city block. Collaboration between the design and construction
teams helped maintain a tight schedule. With the architect, six exhibit-design teams, a general contractor, and more than 60 specialty
trade partners, the project team took an integrated approach early in
the process with specialty partners embedded with the design team.
Top. A rooftop addition over the original
building, with its curvilinear glass-andmetal envelope, visible structural ribs,
fritted insulated glass units, and dramatic prow projecting over the entry façade,
evokes an ancient boat or scroll that further helps merge the building's form and
function. Photo: Alan Karchmer, courtesy
Museum of the Bible
Above. The main museum building is
designed to inspire a sense of history
and wonder. Bronze-embossed Gutenberg
Gates flank the structure's main entrance
where trains once entered the building.
Photo: Alan Karchmer, courtesy Museum
of the Bible

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

JUNE 2018

to determine if the galley met the performance requirements out-

This included weekly design coordination meetings with participa-

lined in the specifications. The design was enhanced until its perfor-

tion from all of the exhibit teams and the contractor as well as quar-

mance met all visual and safety requirements. Traditionally a

terly project meetings where design progress was shared and the client

non-structural building element, the curtainwall served as an

was brought up to date and could weigh in on all design decisions.

avant-garde design feature and structural support for the floor be-

Meticulous schedule management also was crucial to success. The

tween the two new levels. Selecting a system that would meet struc-

museum's aggressive schedule was a determining factor in the project

tural and aesthetic requirements was a collective effort that involved

teams' approach to design and construction. Two options were ex-

SmithGroupJJR and Clark teams, as well as glass fabricators and

plored: preserve the exterior, gut the entire interior, and rebuild with-

installers.

in the existing envelope, or remove every other structural floor while

The museum's iconic design elements, while striking, are only a

maintaining everything else. Preserving the building's structural

part of what makes this new museum unique. The facility is also no-

slabs on every other floor yielded timesavings, so the team chose that

table for its architectural programming, which represents a potential

path.

new model for contemporary museums of all kinds. Whereas tradi-

Another approach to advance the project involved dividing the

tional museums typically consist of exhibition galleries, spaces for

museum into two separate construction projects: the historic renova-

lectures and educational activities, a shop, and a café, Museum of the

tion and demolition, and the new construction, which enabled turn-

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture June 2018