The National Air and Space Museum Will Get a New Look, for $365M

Washington D.C. — The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, like the U.S. space program itself, has seen better days. But there is a $365 million strategy to return one of the institution’s most popular attractions to greatness, and we’re getting our first detailed look.

Titanium cladding? Could have been. But no.

On July 9, 39 years and eight days after it opened to the public, concept plans for the overhauled National Air and Space Museum will go before the National Capital Planning Commission for an initial review. It is a massive undertaking, necessitated by a stunning number of problems facing the building, according to Quinn Evans Architects’ concept design submission filed with the NCPC.

The HVAC system and main roof are failing. Security queuing and airport-like screening can’t keep up with 7 million annual visitors, often leading to 30-plus minute waits outside in often inclement weather. The Tennessee marble facade is warped, cracked and threatening to fall in places. Accessibility, visibility and amenities are lacking. The glass curtain wall allows in too much UV radiation, leading to, for example, “severe yellowing” of astronaut John Young’s Gemini 10 space suit, and degradation of the Spirit of St. Louis’ original lacquer coating.

The Air and Space Museum, designed by Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum Architects (HOK), is marked by its four marble-clad pavilions, separated by three recessed steel-and-glass atria. Construction started in 1972 and continued until the museum opened on July 1, 1976. It has undergone basic repairs since, but the systems and materials are running on borrowed time in part because certain building components were “downgraded” as part of the original construction to reduce cost and hit the stunningly low $40 million budget.

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