The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard
Foster and Partners with Kathryn Gustafson · 2007
Walk into the middle of the building and the sky seems to ripple above you. The courtyard that once stood open to the weather is now covered by a wave of glass and steel that rises and dips in soft curves, resting on eight slender columns so that it never touches the historic walls. On a bright day the grid of the roof throws a moving net of shadows across the pale stone floor; on a grey one the space glows evenly like a greenhouse. Tall ficus trees, planters and a shallow scrim of water that flows across part of the floor give the room a calm, almost outdoor feeling.
The canopy was designed by Norman Foster's firm, Foster and Partners, with the landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson shaping the floor, planting and water. Look up at how the glass panels are all slightly different, since the double-curved roof is made of eight hundred and sixty-four pieces, each set into an aluminium frame that follows the wave. The engineering trick is that the roof floats: it was allowed by preservation authorities only on condition that it could in theory be removed without harming the nineteenth-century building. The water scrim is only a few millimetres deep, and children love to walk through it.
The courtyard opened in November 2007 and was named for the Washington philanthropists Robert and Arlene Kogod, who funded much of it. It quickly became one of the city's favourite meeting places, with a cafe, free wireless internet and long tables where students work and visitors rest between galleries. In the evening it hosts concerts and events. For the two museums that share the building it is also the crossroads: from here you can step into the American Art galleries on one side and the Portrait Gallery on the other without ever going back outside.
Did You Know? The glass roof rests on eight columns and never touches the old walls, a condition set by preservation officials before it could be built.
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