The upset caused by the resignation of Cooper Hewitt director Caroline Baumann is the least of the design museum's problems, says Aaron Betsky.

Whatever may have happened that led to the dismissal of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum director Caroline Baumann last week, the whole affair was badly handled by the Smithsonian Institution, of which the museum is part, at least as far as public appearances go.
I do not know exactly what really occurred in terms of the director's wedding and allowing non-profits to use the museum's facilities, which seems pretty straightforward and normal to me. But I do know the turmoil will only further damage an institution that has, for most of its existence, failed to live up to its name while presenting one mediocre exhibition after another. Full disclosure: I was one of the final candidates during one of the searches for a director in the naughts. Beyond a small sense of "I told you so", however, what I feel more than anything is a profound frustration that the institution that should be the forum for ideas about how to redesign our human-made world ? as well as a showcase for good design ? is instead a footnote in the national design discussion.
The building is utterly unsuited to both exhibitions and public debate
I believe the main reason the museum has not lived up to its potential is not the fault of any people, but of the building the institution calls home. I have said in the past, most recently after the Coop...