big maze by bjarke ingels opens at national building museum
all images courtesy of bjarke ingels group

 

 

 

a life-size indoor maze designed by bjarke ingels group (BIG) has opened to the public at the national building museum in washington DC. the installation offers visitors a glimpse into an exhibition on the international practice to be held at the institution in early 2015.

 

situated in the west court of the museum’s great hall, the vast 18-foot high labyrinth is constructed from baltic birch plywood – referencing european hedge mazes of the 17th and 18th centuries. initial plans for the scheme were unveiled earlier this year, with a time-lapse video (below) highlighting the speed of the project’s construction.

bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum washington designboom
the vast 18-foot high labyrinth is constructed from baltic birch plywood

 

 

 

‘the concept is simple: as you travel deeper into a maze, your path typically becomes more convoluted. what if we invert this scenario and create a maze that brings clarity and visual understanding upon reaching the heart of the labyrinth?’, explained bjarke ingels.

 

the ‘BIG maze’ remains open at the national building museum until september 1, 2014.
read more about the labyrinth in designboom‘s previous coverage of the project here.

bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum washington designboom
from the outside, the complex routes are hidden behind 5 and a half meter walls

bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum washington designboom
the ‘BIG maze’ remains open at the national building museum until september 1, 2014

bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum washington designboom
the scheme is situated in the west court of the institution’s historic great hall

 

 


the big maze construction time-lapse
video by work zone cam / courtesy of the national building museum

 

bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum washington designboom
the installation offers visitors a glimpse into the upcoming BIG exhibition to be held at the institution in early 2015

drawings

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bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum designboom
 
bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum designboom
 
bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum designboom
 
bjarke ingels group big maze national building museum designboom
 

 

project info:

 

collaborators
contractors: clark construction, davis, glass construction, GSC inc., grunley construction, sigal
materials: home depot foundation
cost estimation: cumming, VJ associates
structural engineering: robert silman associates
live-streaming multimedia: earthcam
support: the american institute of architects, studios architecture

 

BIG credit list
partners-in-charge: bjarke ingels, kai-uwe bergmann
project leader: chi-chi lin
team: ziad shehab, thea gasseholm, annette miller

 

national building museum credit list
project director: cathy crane frankel
master carpenter: chris maclay
team: lily feinberg, mary hendrickse, sarah leavitt, jamee telford, vladimir zabavskiy