The DC Traveler

Take dancers from a couple troupes of local professional dancers and have them dance to music from Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, Swan Lake, but not on a traditional stage, but with a collection of Bobcat earth movers as props.

As part of the Festival of Building Arts, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange along with BMD (Bowen McCauley Dance), bring their high energy dance style to the National Building Museum in Washington, DC for three free performances on Saturday.
The dance performances express the relationship between movement, architecture, and the machinery used to build our community.
This revolutionary concept, dancing on and around earth movers should …read more

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The National Building Museum is usually not on most visitor’s must see list, but I think it should be.  It’s worthy of a quick walk through, mostly for the building’s architecture and massive columns. Also, if you’ve dragged very young children from museum to museum who might need a bit of “playtime”, check out the Building Zone.
The museum has four main galleries.

A great retrospective of architect Eero Saarinen – designer of Dulles Airport terminal, the classic TWA Flight Center at New York’s JFK Airport and the St. Louis Arch (Jefferson National Expansion Memorial). Through Aug. 23, 2008.
Cityscapes Revealed – …read more

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Twentieth-century designer and architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) changed modern architecture and interiors. He even influenced “modern” furniture with several now classic designs.
His innovative aluminum and leather strap chair, designed in 1925, was very popular but not called the “Wassily” chain (named after the Italian manufacturer) until its re-release in the 1960s and again was exceptionally popular.  The chair is considered a modern classic.  The Cesca chair was probably copied more than any other chair in the 1970s and 80s, showing up in kitchens and dining rooms across America.
But designing buildings, homes, university buildings, corporate offices, churches, and museums …read more

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In a new exhibit, the National Building Museum (one of the most overlooked museums in DC) puts on display the latest in technology and trends for the environmentally friendly “green” home.
The exhibit features a survey of 20 homes to answer questions about building materials, architecture, design and costs of building a truly green home. Programs include lectures, kids activities, and information on how to go green focusing on the Five Green Principles:

Optimizing use of the sun.
Improving indoor air quality.
Using the land responsibly.
Creating high-performance and moisture-resistant houses.
Wisely using the Earth’s natural resources.

Check out the museum’s list of 19 Ways to Go …read more

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