Hirshhorn To Unveil Hiroshi Sugimoto-Designed Lobby and Coffee Bar

After two years of design and three months of construction, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will unveil its transformed lobby Friday, Feb. 23, reimagined by acclaimed Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. The new space will also feature the specialty coffee bar Dolcezza Coffee & Gelato at Hirshhorn, the museum's first permanent food and beverage offering, and the only locally owned café on the National Mall.   

In reenvisioning the Hirshhorn's ground floor, Sugimoto and his Tokyo-based architectural firm New Material Research Laboratory (NMRL) looked to symbolize what is unique about both the building and the collection, ideally creating a space that functions simultaneously as sculpture, furniture and conceptual art. The artist-made furnishings are inspired by the fundamental shape of the Hirshhorn - the circle - and the ways in which the shape appears in nature, specifically the chaotic roots of a medieval Japanese tree that now form the lobby's central tables.

 

Art and coffee fans can preview the space during special museum hours Feb. 13, 14 and 15, 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m., when the Hirshhorn will be open late to celebrate the opening of both "Brand New: Art and Commodity in the 1980s" and a three-night-only restaging of an iconic  1988 outdoor projection created by artist Krzysztof Wodiczko.

 

Starting Feb. 23, Dolcezza Coffee & Gelato at Hirshhorn will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends, offering an inspiring destination for early-morning coffee and creative collaboration.  

 

The new space will feature:

• Twin glass-top tables crafted from the roots of a 700-year-old Japanese nutmeg tree, discovered by Sugimoto in Japan 15 years ago.
• Dramatic 20-foot metal coffee bar of tin and brushed brass, with tin diamond patterns inspired by innovative fireproofing techniques used in 1930s Tokyo. The menu behind the bar will use a font designed by Sugimoto specifically for Dolcezza.
• Spacious seating with white and brushed-brass benches and chairs. Sugimoto's bench legs feature large blocks of optical glass - the same used in camera lenses - a nod to his celebrated photography career. The chairs are inspired by the helicoid shape of DNA, blending natural and manmade spirals.
• Striking brushed-brass and granite welcome desks, mirroring the original brass of the building's twin entryways.
• Prismatic light sculpture "Your oceanic feeling" (2015) by noted Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, hanging from the ceiling and spanning 12 feet in circumference.
• An open and elevated feel with views down to the National Mall, thanks to the removal of a dark film covering the lobby's 3,300-square-foot windows.
• Free Wi-Fi throughout

Dolcezza Coffee & Gelato at Hirshhorn will offer:

• Seasonal and handcrafted gelato
• Specialty espresso drinks from a Modbar system
• Pour-over and iced coffee
• Gourmet sweet and savory pastries