Review: Smithsonian South Mall Master Plan

"The new master plan for the Smithsonian’s South Mall campus, which runs from the Hirshhorn Museum all the way to the Freer Museum, is a shocker," according to Jared Green. "It obliterates the existing landscape, filled with intimate nooks that invite exploration, in favor of 'improved connectivity' and open plazas that extend the grand expanse of the Mall in between the buildings."

In all, writes Green, "the new plan by Danish architecture and urban design firm BIG and San Francisco-based landscape architecture firm Surface Design, as well as many other collaborators, may leave visitors feeling exposed."

The review includes a lot more details about the master plan and a large collection of renderings.