Inflation

Blow-up Hall at the Hirshhorn Museum

The newly appointed Hirshhorn Museum director plans to fill America’s capital with hot air as he quietly works on an inflatable meeting hall for the museum, situated between the White House and the Capitol Building. Richard Koshalek hopes to place the translucent 145-foot-tall structure, designed by New York’s Diller Scofidio & Renfro, on top of the Hirshhorn’s interior courtyard. The blow-up building would be installed twice yearly in May and October and tucked away for the rest of the time. While the hall is inflated, however, Koshalek plans to host performing arts, film series and conferences that will hopefully foster conversation on the country’s cultural ideals and push those in the nation’s capital to connect with their creative sides. Reportedly costing approximately $5 million, the design can be inflated at a moment’s notice, a process that promises to rival the balloon readying at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While most of Washington focuses on health-care reform and war in the Middle East, Koshalek’s light-as-air structure could be a sanctuary for overly stressed political masterminds.