National Aquarium Model

In the 1960s, as concern about the environment began to grow in the United States, Ray and Charles Eames worked with architect Kevin Roche on a proposal for a National Aquarium which was to have been added to the various monuments on the National Mall in Washington, DC. It was never built, but this model shows it in its final, “shovel ready” version.

The design suggests a different way of experiencing nature. Instead of looking at it from the outside, visitors would move through spaces that brought them closer to aquatic life and to the systems that support it. Like many projects from that time, it reflects a growing awareness of pollution, resource use, and the need to better understand the natural world.

This model was shown in the Museum of Modern Art’s 2023–24 exhibition Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism, which looked at how architects and designers responded to environmental issues starting in the 1960s. The exhibition included drawings, films, and models that explored these ideas across several decades.

After the exhibition, MoMA gifted the model to the Eames Institute, where it is now part of the collection.