After a temporary, three-month closure for renovations, Washington, D.C.’s National Building Museum is set to reopen to the public on March 13. The main renovations are focused on the building’s Great Hall, which is known for its 75-foot-tall Corinthian columns and gilded archways. In addition, the 19th-century concrete floor will be shored up with a modern foundation, and the space will be reorganized, so that the bulk of the exhibits now live on the second floor.
Karchmer’s interest in photographing architecture started when he was a student of architecture (he has a master’s degree in the field), but realized that his natural talent lies in interpreting design rather than creating it. “Light and shadow are incredibly important elements within architecture, and they are useful devices in expressing architecture photographically,” Karchmer says.
One of Karchmer’s talents is his ability to bring a building’s personality to life. One image featured in the show, of the Auditorio de Tenerife (an auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava), uses the surrounding marine environment to frame the building—an expressionist symphony hall that looks like a shell rising from the water. His choice to examine the auditorium with a wide shot allows the viewer to see how it exists in the landscape, its beauty usurped only by the beauty of Spain’s sunlight on the sea. Another photograph shows a home teetering above a grassy clearing. Under Karchmer’s lens, the glass-paneled building seems to defy physics, appearing as light as it does domineering. Most of us will never get to see these buildings in person. But Karchmer’s photographs are a pretty good substitute.
