Hiroshi Sugimoto on designing with a 700-year-old nutmeg tree
Description:
Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto was commissioned to transform the museum’s lobby, the first cohesive redesign of the iconic Gordon Bunshaft-designed building in the museum’s 42-year history. Sugimoto (b. 1948, Tokyo) reimagined the Hirshhorn’s lobby as an immersive, functional artwork, giving visitors an entirely new community space for creative inspiration. His design was brought to life through his Tokyo-based architectural firm New Material Research Laboratory. The redesign also includes the debut of Dolcezza Coffee & Gelato at Hirshhorn, the Museum’s first permanent coffee shop and the only locally owned café at the Smithsonian.