Hot to Cold

The Building Becomes the Design — The vast atrium of the National Building Museum framed by its double-story arcade is an urban room of epic proportions. Rather than cramming all the work into the three galleries, BIG turns the entire second-floor arcade into the exhibition design.

Around the World in 800 Feet — Organized like a journey around the world in 800 feet, the exhibition takes visitors through BIG's body of work - traveling from the warmest to the coldest climate to explore the conditions that have influenced BIG's projects.

Fiction to Fact — The atrium explains the conditions that shape the buildings throughout the design process, while three traditional gallery spaces are devoted to depicting the afterlife of the built work. The galleries show how life adapts to its context and climate, and the architecture that was designed to accommodate it.

Arches Becomes Frames — Each of the 76 arches serve as the frame for the story of how 60 projects were shaped by their contextual conditions including their culture, geography, program, economy, regulations, politics, legislation, and climate.

Suspension — Evidence of the work process in the form of models, mock-ups, and prototypes are suspended like exhibits in the atrium.