The end is finally here for the saga surrounding artist Hiroshi Sugimoto's reworking of the Washington, D.C. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden following an approval Thursday from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). 

The NCPC go-ahead comes after another round of discord which began in March when Sugimoto allegedly threatened to quit the project over an amended plan which would have cut out his introduction of a stacked stone wall in Gordon Bunshaft’s original centerpiece water feature in the museum’s sculpture garden.

The July proposal itself came with a bit of controversy as opponents of the plan were quick to point out that the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which governs any new Smithsonian development, was replete of any landscape architects as recently appointed by President Joe Biden.

“The art of our time is often immersive, interactive and ready to break free of walls, and we believe that a museum of the 21st century needs to be responsive to the art being made today,” Director Melissa Chiu said in a statement. “Sugimoto’s vision is very much aligned with the garden’s original influences but takes a view toward the future. Our next chapter is one that is more inclusive and accessible and elevates the experiences and voices of today.”