Designed with visitors' needs in mind, the overall renovation plan would actually excavate underneath the Smithsonian Castle—made from red sandstone bricks and finished in 1855—by suspending the structure via a process called base isolation. This would allow for the creation of the underground space depicted above. Photo 2 of 8 in BIG Presents New Vision for Smithsonian Campus in Washington

BIG Presents New Vision for Smithsonian Campus in Washington

2 of 8

Designed with visitors' needs in mind, the overall renovation plan would actually excavate underneath the Smithsonian Castle—made from red sandstone bricks and finished in 1855—by suspending the structure via a process called base isolation. This would allow for the creation of the underground space depicted above.