Floor 1 | Going Home

First Floor Kiosk

Welcome to floor one of Making Home. We are currently standing in the main entrance of Cooper Hewitt in the Great Hall— a grand foyer adorned with elaborate wood paneling on the walls and carpeted in a checkered pattern. In a moment you will explore the different rooms of this exhibition, but first let’s orient ourselves in the space. You have arrived at these visual descriptions via QR code that you scanned either from the exhibition brochure or the first floor kiosk.  The kiosk sits in the wide walkway, to the left of the main entrance steps, and is a large wooden stand in the shape of two four-sided pyramids with a flat top stacked on top of each other. The kiosk holds large print label binders, brochures, and a touch map with braille text for wayfinding. The main entrance is behind us and to the left. The grand staircase is to the left of the main entrance. If we were to travel to our right, we would move down to the end of the corridor where there is an entry area to the Carnegie Library with the installation The Underground Library, and within the library is Mr. Carnegie’s private office where the installation Game Room is situated. If we were to visit the rooms opposite of the main entrance we would find the following: moving east to west is Vues/Views in the original Music Room, Welcome to Territory in the Reception Room, Living Room: Orlean, Virginia in the Dining Room, The Offering in the mansion’s Breakfast Room, and ending with the Conservatory where you’ll find Ebb + Flow. If we were to travel to our left we would find the visitor experience desk on the right, and a seating area with couches on the left. The space straight ahead is the Spoon Gallery with the installation Recollection above on the ceiling, the elevator that will bring us to the upper and lower floors on the right, and the installation A Place to Simply, BE in what was the former Carnegie Powder Room on the left. Just beyond the Powder Room ahead is the Cooper Hewitt Shop. 

As you explore each room you will find QR codes to give you a visual description of the space and additional information around each installation on the plinths. QR codes are located in the lower left corner of all project labels.