May 2012 • Portfolio
No Place Like Home
An expansive new exhibition surveys the full range of American residential design.
By Avinash Rajagopal
EXHIBITION
House & Home
National Building Museum
www.nbm.org
Washington, D.C.
From New York City apartments to California McMansions, the homes we build are unique reflections of how we see ourselves and of the times in which we live. American dwellings have been completely transformed over the last three centuries. The exhibition House & Home, on view at the National Building Museum until 2017, showcases this diversity at various scales—from a display of household goods to an interactive history of housing. Two large photographic murals highlight the architectural and cultural aspects of American domestic life, while a film explores contemporary residential design. “When we address the ideas of house and home in this exhibition,” the curator, Sarah Leavitt, says, “we are not limiting that definition to single-family houses, but are thinking about these issues in a wide variety of contexts.” Here, Leavitt discusses a small sampling of the rich materials on view at the show.
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“We needed to think carefully about all the things people do in their homes. We found photographs of families and friends using all sections of the house, from the bedroom to the dining room and even the front porch, a very important part of the house for many families.”
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