Beyer Blinder Belle has completed the Rubell Museum in Washington, D.C.

 

On October 29, the Rubell Museum opened its doors to the public in Washington, D.C. The museum is part of a development that began more than a decade ago, and it is situated on the side of the freeway away from the progression of Smithsonian museums that line the National Mall. The Rubell Museum offers a sizable influx of contemporary art that expands the city’s cultural centre. 

The other part of the site’s development is Gallery 64, a 12-story apartment building immediately north of the museum that was designed concurrently by BBB. Museum founders Mera and Don Rubell, along with their son, Jason, had previously opened a Miami museum designed by Selldorf Architects in 2019; the DC location marks the second outpost for an art-collecting family whose collection has grown to nearly 7,500 objects. 

The Rubells are known for their eclectic and expanding art collection, which features contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Jeff Koons. The family decided to open a second museum location in order to provide more exposure to their growing collection. Gallery 64 was designed with the purpose of being an accessible space for art lovers of all types.

When approaching the Rubell Museum, visitors are first greeted by a line of brick school buildings - the 1906 Cardozo Elementary School and 1927 additions which later became the Randall Junior High School. The museum's glass-and-steel entry pavilion faces an open courtyard, with the Randall Recreation Center and Pool located to the east. The taller apartment building, Gallery 64, which serves as a backdrop and highway noise buffer for the Rubell Museum, has townhouse-style apartments at ground level surrounding an interior courtyard. This courtyard allows for natural light to bounce into the museum’s north-facing gallery windows, and it also reserves space for the shorter building in perpetuity.

The small, unassuming entry pavilion houses the usual visitor amenities like a check-in desk, restrooms, and a bookstore before leading into the former school’s 4,000-square-foot auditorium, which now serves as a sizable, double-height gallery. This space is big enough to contain large paintings, like Kehinde Wiley’s 11-by-25-foot painting Sleep, or El Anatsui’s 13-by-17-foot tapestry-like assemblage of bottle caps and wire Another Man's Cloth. Mera Rubell pointed out that this was the auditorium where Marvin Gaye, a student at the time, was first identified as having great potential. Later on, he used his talents to create the hit song “What’s Going On.” The name of the Rubell Museum's first exhibition is based on this tune.

In 1989, artist Keith Haring was creating a series of pieces called Untitled (Against All Odds) while listening to Marvin Gaye's music; those 20 pieces make up one of the galleries, with a boombox on the floor playing "What's Going On" to further invoke Haring's experience.

In the oldest building of the complex, BBB has strategically deployed a restrained palette of typical gallery materials, pulling back the white gallery walls and finishes at corners to reveal brickwork that has been retained; uncovered ceilings reveal original joists paired with new “sister” beams bolted alongside to add support where necessary. By using typical gallery materials in this way, BBB has managed to create a sense of cohesion between the old and new elements of the building. 

The museum's main galleries are arranged over three levels, with the two upper floors preserving their original pine flooring and brick archways between galleries. The lower level is slightly below grade but admits ample daylight through downstairs windows. It features an installation of broken columns and other architectural details coated in imitation gold leaf by John Miller, titled A Refusal to Accept Limits. The galleries not only juxtapose contemporary art within historic architecture, but they also contrast the historic schoolhouse with the new residential building in terms of style and texture. This contrast creates a unique and delightful experience for the viewer.

Hany Hassan, principal of BBB, is excited about the newly opened museum and the forthcoming residences (set to open in spring 2023) to revitalize the area. "It's an overall development to really transform this area," he said at the opening. "The absence of this building, when it was vacant—for a very long time, almost a decade or more—created a void in the heart of the southwest area between South Capitol Avenue and the water." The Rubell Museum is making a good impression on the neighbourhood by offering free admission to District residents. The development will have a positive impact on the neighbourhood because of its scale.