The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum has released five design proposals for the forthcoming Bezos Learning Center — a $130 million development made possible through a $200 million gift from the billionaire, the largest donation the Smithsonian has received since its founding in 1846.
Five different anonymous firms have submitted potential plans for the center, which will include exhibition spaces, a restaurant, terrace, and observatory across 50,000 square feet and three floors in the east wing of the Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian will be accepting public feedback on the designs until Sept. 19, before selecting the final plan in 2023.
Most of the renderings have seemingly draw inspiration from, well, space and air — fitting for a new building in the name of Bezos, a Big Space Guy who launched himself off Earth for 10 minute trip in 2021. (Less successful was the launch of his unmanned Blue Origin rocket this past Monday, which crashed barely a minute into its flight.) The architectural proposals include a lot of mostly glass buildings constructed in funky shapes and curves meant to resemble rocketships and other celestial sights. Some, especially “Plan A,” share a familiar aesthetic to that of the Amazon HQ2 Helix, which has drawn comparisons to an ice-cream cone, seashell, and poop emoji.
Regardless of what design the Smithsonian settles on, the Bezos Learning Center will transform the look of Independence Avenue, standing in stark contrast to the Air and Space Museum’s current gray, boxy facade.
The construction of the Bezos Learning Center comes in the latter half of a $1 billion, seven-year redevelopment of one of D.C.’s most popular destinations. The entire museum has been closed since March of this year for construction on new galleries in the west wing, which is slated to reopen this fall. On Oct. 14, eight west wing galleries will reopen with timed entry passes, while the east wing of the building, which was deconstructed earlier this year, isn’t set to be complete until 2025.
A completed Bezos Learning Center won’t come until 2026, the year the museum celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Colleen Grablick




