The Moongate Garden

The Moongate Garden

Inspired by the gardens and architecture of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China, the Moongate Garden was designed using a geometrical, axial layout, centered around the cardinal points of the compass. The entrances leading into the garden enter through the southwest corner and exist through the northeast, creating what the architect called the "pinwheel treatment," aligning it with key points of the building and neighboring galleries.

The design of the garden is reflective of the allegorical use of rocks and water in Chinese culture, to symbolize the basic constituents of nature. Rock is symbolic of the body of the earth and water symbolizes the spirit.

Water is frequently used through out the city to reflect the buildings and monuments as well as the heavens.

architect: Jean Paul Carlhian

Smithsonian Institution Building
1000 Jefferson Dr SW, Washington, DC