Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard位于华盛顿史密斯学会大楼，是由Foster + Partners建筑事务所设计的，该项目获得了2008年世界建筑日建筑奖之New & Old 类最佳作品。

史密斯学会（The Smithsonian Institution）占据了以前的美国专利局大楼（United States Patent Building），这栋大楼曾被瓦尔特·惠特曼（Walt Whitman）形容为“华盛顿最高贵的建筑”。

The Patent Building建于1836年到1867年，它是美国希腊复古式建筑的杰出代表，也是华盛顿城市结构的重要组成部分。

但后来由于破损严重，在1958年，艾森豪威尔总统下令将其移交给了史密斯学会，作为国家肖像画廊 （National Portrait Gallery）及史密森尼美国艺术博物馆（Smithsonian American Art Museum）。

为转换史密森尼展览区的公众体验，以及使史密斯学会成为华盛顿最大的活动空间之一，史密斯学会请建筑师设计了这个豪华的中心庭院。

The enclosed courtyard forms the centrepiece of the building’s long-term renovation programme, which also included the redesign of the galleries with contemporary interactive displays, the addition of a conservation laboratory, an auditorium and greatly increased exhibition space. Visitors can enter the surrounding galleries from the courtyard, and out of museum hours the space regularly hosts a variety of social events, including concerts and public performances. Designed to do ‘the most with the least’, the fluid-form, fully glazed roof canopy develops structural and environmental themes first explored in the design of the roof of the Great Court at the British Museum, bathing the courtyard with natural light.

Structurally, the roof is composed of three interconnected vaults that flow into one another through softly curved valleys. The double-glazed panels are set within a diagrid of fins, clad in acoustic material, which together form a rigid shell that needs to be supported by only eight columns. Visually, the roof is raised above the walls of the existing building, clearly articulating the new from the old. Seen illuminated at night, this canopy appears to float above the Patent Building, symbolising the cultural importance of the Smithsonian Institution and giving new life to a popular Washington landmark.