To Pop or Not? Hirshhorn 'Bubble' Puts Museum at a Crossroads

In front of 15 board members last week, Richard Koshalek announced his decision to resign from his post as director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden by the end of the year, citing as his reason the board's indecision over the Diller Scofidio and Renfro-designed "bubble," which would connect the modern and contemporary art museum's exterior courtyard with its interior galleries, creating performance and additional exhibit space.

The project's implementation is forecast to cost approximately $12.5 million, $7.8 million of which has already been raised. The board of trustees has announced that it cannot decide whether to continue fundraising efforts or focus them on other museum priorities and has left the decision up to the museum's secretary, G. Wayne Clough, writes Graham Bowley.