Going to Great Lengths and Curves To Mimic Nature in Nation's Capital
Artifice for artifacts' sake is keeping the team shaping the curve-heavy National Museum of the American Indian running in circles not far from the foot of the nation's Capitol. It is taking many formsclimbing, reusable, adjustable, circular, stick-builtand other stretches of skill to create a natural-looking environment, inside and out, representing cultures and habitats of indigenous tribes.
"The effort we go through to make the stone [cladding] look natural is unbelievable," says William I. Kline, project manager for the joint venture architect, Polshek/SmithGroup, Washington, D.C., and Jones and Jones, Seattle. The same could be said for other elements of the five-story building.