Snarkitecture has unveiled The Playground, a large-scale interactive installation inside the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, creating the institution’s largest indoor installation to date. Open through 30 August, the immersive project transforms the museum’s historic Great Hall into a landscape of architecture-inspired play, encouraging visitors of all ages to engage with design through movement, exploration and creativity.
Architecture-inspired play fills the Great Hall
Spread across the Italian Renaissance Revival-style Great Hall, The Playground features nine distinct play environments installed over recycled flooring. The design studio drew directly from architectural materials and construction techniques, using birch plywood, steel, cork and industrial components to reinterpret the familiar language of playgrounds through a contemporary design lens.
“Snarkitecture has always been interested in the familiar made unfamiliar, environments that invite people to see and experience the world differently,” said Snarkitecture co-founder Alex Mustonen.
“The Playground reimagines the familiar experience of a playground into something unexpected: an invitation for people of all ages to rediscover the joy, creativity, and wonder of open-ended play.”
At the heart of the installation sits The Hill, a sculptural birch plywood structure featuring stepped seating, tunnels and slides that doubles as both a gathering space and interactive landscape.
Meanwhile, the adjacent Wavy Walls maze winds around the Great Hall’s monumental columns, integrating the museum’s historic architecture into the visitor experience. Although the columns appear to be marble, they are constructed from plaster-covered brick designed to resemble the stonework of Michelangelo’s Santa Maria degli Angeli church in Rome.
Elsewhere, visitors can explore a climbing wall, navigate an obstacle course and dive into the Dig Pit, an area filled with natural cork that introduces tactile play through sustainable materials.
Industrial materials encourage creative exploration
Throughout the installation, Snarkitecture incorporates construction-inspired elements to blur the boundary between architecture and play. Hammocks suspended from bright red steel frames reference scaffolding, while the Adventure Yard invites children to build using timber, pipes and metal components commonly found on construction sites.
“Using real materials and tools, young builders are invited to imagine, construct, test ideas, and collaborate as they explore the fundamentals of design and making,” the National Building Museum said.
Furthermore, dedicated areas for younger children and collaborative play ensure the installation accommodates a wide range of ages while reinforcing the museum’s educational mission.
By combining architecture, industrial materials and interactive environments, The Playground highlights how spatial design can foster curiosity, creativity and social engagement beyond conventional exhibition formats.
The Playground is on view at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, from 3 July through 30 August.