*Drawings I
01. Elevation oblique serial sectionsSequence
Contrasting the original axial entrance in the center of the building leading to a flight of stairs, we instead recognized the datums of the site's slope, which is about 4 meters from west to east. Opposing the natural slope we cut through the ground parallel to the building at 1:20. As you descend, you’re moving further and farther away from the original facade of the building and closer to the deep interior. When you enter the building at its lowest, you’re actually entering into what used to be its highest level. This is because of the Sunken Tower, which was uncoupled from the original facade and lowered into the ground. This destabilizes the prior symmetry of the building while also creating a new public plaza. Through this space, there’s a long corridor where you can see into the building's restoration workshop as you travel up to the opposite tower. This elongated and more cinematic entry brings you underneath and through the building before entering it.This contrasts the more episodic interior.
The building used to be organized by the logic of the enfilade which we kept visually present but made inaccessible. Now the enfilade cuts through the entire building so that this continuous system of doorways is entirely hollow. A new circulation path allows for glimpses through the prior enfilade as you move vertically between gallery spaces instead of the previous horizontal organization. The path envelops the 4 interior volumes, creating an offset that mirrors the offset present on the site. The new separation of circulation and gallery changes the meandering pace of the museum.
02. Plan showing ground depressions, sunken plaza, and hanging volumes
03. Section cutting through interior volumes and circulations
Produced with Tamara Birghoffer
Instructed by Russell Thomsen