Visitors to the National Building Museum in Washington DC can prepare to get lost. In a maze, that is. The Danish architecture firm BIG, lead by architect Bjarke Ingels, recently installed a giant concave wooden maze inside of the Museum’s Great Hall. It’s appropriately called BIG Maze and is 18 square meters that’s built using Baltic Birch plywood.
BIG developed the installation’s form by combining different styles of mazes throughout history. They were inspired by ancient Greek labyrinths, European hedge mazes, and even the American corn maze. This isn’t your typical challenge, though. While most maze paths become more convoluted the deeper you travel, BIG’s design brings clarity and visual understanding upon reaching the heart of the labyrinth. The indoor puzzle has a perimeter of five and a half meters that gradually decreases as you reach the middle. From there, you can see the way out.
If you’re interested in winding through the BIG Maze path, you have until September 1st. It’s followed by a wider exhibition of the firm’s work that will open in January 2015.
BIG website and BIG Maze exhibition website
via [Dezeen]