Co-founded in 2008 by Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham, Snarkitecture has gained international recognition for its playful yet conceptually rigorous approach to the built environment. The studio’s work reimagines everyday materials and spaces, creating unexpected, interactive experiences that invite exploration and curiosity. 

Snarkitecture first partnered with the Museum in 2015 with The BEACH, an installation that transformed the Great Hall into an expansive “shoreline” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls. Drawing more than 180,000 visitors, the project became one of the most popular exhibitions in the Museum’s history and a defining moment for the Museum’s summer installation series.

In 2018, Snarkitecture returned with Fun House, its first comprehensive museum exhibition. Conceived as a re-imagined freestanding house within the Great Hall, the installation guided visitors through a sequence of immersive rooms showcasing the studio’s past projects, objects, and environments. Blending exhibition and experience, Fun House highlighted Snarkitecture’s distinctive ability to reinterpret familiar spaces while making architecture accessible to a broad audience.

“Each summer, we invite a designer to reimagine the Great Hall in a way that changes how people experience space,” said Aileen Fuchs, president and executive director of the National Building Museum. “Snarkitecture has a unique ability to transform familiar materials into something surprising and participatory, and their past installations have created some of the most memorable experiences in the Museum’s history.”

“We look forward to returning to the Great Hall this summer - there's a scale and openness to that space that expands what's possible to create and experience there,” said Alex Mustonen. “We're excited to share more about what we're working on and to invite people to join us.”

Known for projects ranging from innovative retail environments to large-scale installations at major cultural institutions worldwide, Snarkitecture continues to push the boundaries of how people experience space. Their work emphasizes participation, perception, and the transformation of the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The 2026 Summer Installation will once again activate the Museum’s Great Hall with a bold, interactive environment designed to engage visitors throughout the season.