Yesterday I got to visit The Beach, an installation in the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Designed by Snarkitecture, a studio known for its monochromatic experiments with the blending of art and architecture, The Beach is an interactive and playful installation filled with nearly a million translucent plastic balls.
When we arrived at the exhibit on this Thursday afternoon, the line stretched to the sign claiming we had 30 minutes to wait, although the attendant at the ticket booth told us it would only be about 20. In actuality, we were probably only in line for about 10-15 minutes before we got to go inside.
The Beach is set up like–you guessed it–a beach, complete with beach chairs and umbrellas, and a snack bar stocked by Union Kitchen. Instead of water, obviously, the ocean is made up of the plastic balls, which gets deeper the further out you go. At the furthest point the balls are around 3-3.5 feet deep!
The installation is completely monochromatic (like much of Snarkitecture's work), with a mirrored wall at the very back, reflecting the sea and creating the illusion of even more expansiveness. You can walk along the pier, which runs through the center of the exhibit, and jump (or dive!) off a circular platform in the deepest end.
I was surprised by how fun it was to play in and how supported I felt while sitting up, as well as by how difficult it was to move around! It was definitely more of a workout than I thought it would be. It's also great for people-watching, as anyone and everyone of all ages was having a blast and taking pictures.
If you're near DC and you get the chance, definitely stop by to check it out! The exhibition runs through September 7.
