WASHINGTON — Last summer, we all went to the BEACH. This summer, the National Building Museum will immerse visitors in the underwater world of glacial ice fields.
Part of the museum’s Summer Block Party series, ICEBERGS will give the illusion of being underwater through a “water line” at 20 feet above the floor of the museum’s Great Hall.
Visitors will be able to look down from the balcony into the display, and visitors on the ground floor can look up to the highest “iceberg,” at 56 feet. The “icebergs” are made of reusable materials like scaffolding and polycarbonate panels (commonly used to build greenhouses).
This is a totally hands-on installation. Visitors can climb to the top of the 56-foot iceberg, walk along an “undersea” bridge, hang out in caves and grottoes on the floor level and taste shaved-ice snacks.
“You’ll be able to float underneath the ‘waterline’, so to speak,” says Brett Rodgers, a spokesman for the museum. “Everyone know that 75 percent of icebergs are underneath the surface. We want to be able to capture that experience.”
The design firm behind the installation, James Corner Field Operations, also designed New York City’s High Line public park. It’s set to open July 4th weekend, and Rodgers says all construction on the project will be done in the few weeks leading up to the opening.
