May 11
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
1203 Good Hope Rd SE
The 11th Street Bridge Park, a partnership between the Ward 8-based nonprofit Building Bridges Across the River and the District Department of Transportation, will be Washington, D.C.’s first elevated public park. Located on the piers of the old 11th Street Bridge spanning the Anacostia River, the Bridge Park will be a new venue for healthy recreation, environmental education, and the arts. After a seven-month design competition, the design team of OMA+OLIN was selected in October 2014.
Join the Washington Architectural Foundation for an informative walking tour and discussion to learn about the extensive community outreach and consultative process and how the Bridge Park goes beyond supporting the community’s cultural, physical, and environmental health.
Alan Karchmer: The Architects’ Photographer
National Building Museum
Through August 14
401 F Street NW
Photo Credit: Credit: Alan Karchmer / OTTO
Photographer Alan Karchmer has risen to prominence in his field thanks to his skill in conveying architects’ ideas and intentions. Having earned a Master of Architecture himself, Karchmer uses his knowledge of the design process, coupled with his own artistic vision, to express the essence of a building. He is, quintessentially, “The Architects’ Photographer.”
This exhibition presents a cross-section of Karchmer’s professional photographs, coupled with personal photos and artifacts that shed light on his work. While the exhibition features numerous large-format images of remarkable beauty, it also includes didactic displays examining the technical and creative processes underlying such images. It thus illuminates why certain images are so successful in expressing both the physical and emotional aspects of architecture.
By displaying multiple images of specific buildings, the exhibition also examines how a series of photographs can be used to create a visual narrative conveying a cohesive sense of design, place, and experience. The exhibition sheds light on the important but sometimes elusive role of artistic interpretation, tracing how the photographer’s own vision complements that of the architect, yielding final images that ultimately reflect a blend of the two. It also explores how changing technologies—especially the transition from analog to digital cameras—have influenced architectural photography.
