A Guide to Smithsonian Architecture (2nd Edition)

- Blurb -

This second edition of A Guide to Smithsonian Architecture is now in color and fully updated. The buildings of the Smithsonian Institution not only contain impressive collections; they are themselves icons of great cultural significance, many of them part of the historic National Mall. A Guide to Smithsonian Architecture is a gorgeous and intimate look at the striking buildings across the Smithsonian, providing engaging historical background and focusing on small details you might otherwise miss. The Smithsonian' s unique buildings illustrate the changing styles and sensibilities of America as an evolving nation. Representing the work of major architects, each building evokes a specific time in history- the mid-19th-century turreted Castle, the sky-reflecting mid-century modern National Air and Space Museum, the golden, undulating, 21st-century National Museum of the American Indian, and the shimmering, triple-tiered National Museum of African and American History and Culture, whose innovative design incorporated architectural sustainability that earned it the coveted LEED Gold rating. This guide is a perfect read for architecture buffs, history lovers, and Smithsonian devotees.