The museum’s Great Hall rises 159 feet. Photo via: Dezeen

Courtesy of ArtNet and written by Henri Neuendorf.  If you live in Washington D.C., why not grab a towel and a pair of flip flops and head to the “beach”?

The National Building Museum has tapped design agency Snarkitecture to transform its iconic Great Hall into a seaside landscape, complete with an ocean made of over a million transparent plastic balls.

The 10,000 square feet installation, entitled “The BEACH,” also features all-white deck chairs and umbrellas. A mirrored wall creates the illusion of an endless horizon, and there’s even a beach bar where visitors can grab a cold drink.

The museum invites visitors to hang out on the shore, read a book, or indulge in a game of paddle ball.

“Although it is bound to be an entertaining retreat from the summer heat for our visitors, it also turns our understanding of the natural environment on its head and offers us the opportunity to question our own expectations of the built environment and see where pushing the boundaries can take us,” Chase W. Rynd, director of the National Building Museum, said of the installation in a statement.

A visitor relaxes in the installation
Photo via: Dezeen

“We see the commission as an exciting opportunity to create an architectural installation that reimagines the qualities and possibilities of material, encourages exploration and interaction with one’s surroundings, and offers an unexpected and memorable landscape for visitors to relax and socialize within,” Alex Mustonen, Snarkitecture co-founder, added.

The installation includes deck chairs at the “shoreline”
Photo via: Dezeen

“The BEACH” is on view at the National Building Museum, Washington D.C., from July 4-September 7, 2015.

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