SNARKITECTURE RETURNS TO THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM FOR 2026 SUMMER INSTALLATION 

— The studio behind The BEACH and Fun House brings a bold new immersive experience to the Great Hall, July 3–August 30 — 

WASHINGTON, D.C.– May 4, 2026— Today the National Building Museum announced the return of Snarkitecture for its highly anticipated summer installation series in the Museum’s iconic Great Hall. The new installation will be open from Friday, July 3 through Sunday, August 30, 2026, continuing the Museum’s tradition of transforming its historic space into an immersive, large-scale public experience. 

Additional details about the installation will be announced in late May. The return of Snarkitecture marks a continued collaboration between the Museum and the New York–based practice known for blurring the boundaries between architecture, art, and design. 

Co-founded in 2008 by Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham, Snarkitecture has gained international recognition for its playful yet conceptually rigorous approach to the built environment. The studio’s work reimagines everyday materials and spaces, creating unexpected, interactive experiences that invite exploration and curiosity. 

Snarkitecture first partnered with the Museum in 2015 with The BEACH, an installation that transformed the Great Hall into an expansive “shoreline” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls. Drawing more than 180,000 visitors, the project became one of the most popular exhibitions in the Museum’s history and a defining moment for the Museum’s summer installation series. 

In 2018, Snarkitecture returned with Fun House, its first comprehensive museum exhibition. Conceived as a re-imagined freestanding house within the Great Hall, the installation guided visitors through a sequence of immersive rooms showcasing the studio’s past projects, objects, and environments. Blending exhibition and experience, Fun House highlighted Snarkitecture’s distinctive ability to reinterpret familiar spaces while making architecture accessible to a broad audience. 

“Each summer, we invite a designer to reimagine the Great Hall in a way that changes how people experience space,” said Aileen Fuchs, president and executive director of the National Building Museum. “Snarkitecture has a unique ability to transform familiar materials into something surprising and participatory, and their past installations have created some of the most memorable experiences in the Museum’s history.” 

“We look forward to returning to the Great Hall this summer – there’s a scale and openness to that space that expands what’s possible to create and experience there,” said Alex Mustonen. “We’re excited to share more about what we’re working on and to invite people to join us.” 

Known for projects ranging from innovative retail environments to large-scale installations at major cultural institutions worldwide, Snarkitecture continues to push the boundaries of how people experience space. Their work emphasizes participation, perception, and the transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary. 

The 2026 Summer Installation will once again activate the Museum’s Great Hall with a bold, interactive environment designed to engage visitors throughout the season. 

SPONSORS 
Amazon, DowntownDC Business Improvement District and the District of Columbia Executive Office of the Mayor – Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Monumental Sports, AIA, and Milwaukee Tool 
 
IMAGES: Images from past summer installations available HERE. 
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Karen Baratz, karen@baratzpr.com, 240.497.1811 
 
ABOUT THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM 
The National Building Museum inspires curiosity about the world we design and build. We believe that understanding the impact of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, construction, planning, and design is important for everyone. Through exhibitions, educational programs, and special events, we welcome visitors of all ages to experience stories about the built world and its power to shape our lives, our communities, and our futures. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448, info@nbm.org, or visit www.nbm.org. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.  

ABOUT SNARKITECTURE 
An impossible voyage by an improbable crew to find an inconceivable creature. 

Snarkitecture is a New York-based design practice dedicated to reimagining the familiar. We collaborate with cultural, commercial and private clients around the world to design memorable spaces, experiences and objects. With a focus on sensory experience, the studio works across scales and typologies, including retail, hospitality, residential, collectible design, and object collaborations. 

With an ethos of “not art, not architecture” and a methodology that challenges conventional approaches to materials and structures, our team thrives on creating environments and moments that invite people to explore, play, and reflect. 

www.snarkitecture.com 

@snarkitecture