Toward a New Vision to Design a Museum in Historical Places

Baher I. Farahat

Faculty of Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon

Keywords: Urban design, Built environment, Creative design, Design strategy, Contextual design

1. The disappearance of the added architectural work

To resolve the contradictions between old and new, and to find freedom within the boundaries of strict regulation and historical preservation, we have chosen to carefully reinterpret the elements that are already present in the campus, to maintain and conserve the character and the vision of the historical context. This is so strongly clear by the presence of almost 90 percent of the building underground, as shown in, which preserved the independence of the personality of the historical context without any negative impact on them, as well as you can see easily all the historical.

buildings around without any interception of the museum building to the angles of vision for these buildings. But to overcome the problematic of loss personality of the museum in the historical context, the architect of the museum raises some parts of the building above the land and also makes the material with clear glass to contrast with the context and to allow seeing the historical context through this transparent glass.

The comprehensive overhaul includes the revitalization of the castle, with expanded visitor services, new mall-facing entrances to the national museum of African art, and improved visibility and access from the freer gallery of art to the Hirsh horn museum and its adjacent sculpture gar- den. The master plan provides the first-ever integrative vision for the south mall, said Wayne, secretary of the Smithsonian institution.

2. See and have to be seen with the concept of open museum

This clearly was done through the presence of open spaces in the museum so the visitors can see the historical context from the museum in the lower parts and in the same time the visitors to the historical context can see the exhibits too. The original roof of the quadrangle building under the Haupt garden will also be replaced, bringing daylight into the underground complex for the first time, and the architect raises some parts of the building above the land and makes the material of the building with transparent glass to allow seeing the historical context through it and in the same time the visitors to the historical context can see the exhibits too. And the architect also makes the roof of the building as an educational and cognitive path so the visitors can be aware of all of the historical context elements through walking on it.

The proposal focuses on creating a coherent and inseparable experience which mixes the experiences of the conventional museum and the classical garden into a series of remarkable spaces. Its location within the historical setting of the city’s botanical garden creates a potential for a museum that is more authentic, engaging and open for everyone.

This architectural work offers many keywords and design ideas, including the following:

3. The disappearance of the added architectural work

To maintain and conserve the character and the vision of the historical context, this is so strongly clear by the presence of almost 90 percent of the building under- ground, which preserved the independence of the personality of the historical context without any negative impact on them. As well as you can see easily all the historical buildings around without any interception of the museum building to the angles of vision for these buildings. But to overcome the problematic of loss personality of the museum in the historical context, the architect of the museum raises some parts of the building such as the huge showing exhibition halls of the museum above the land and also makes the material of the building with clear glass to contrast with the context and allow seeing the historical context through this transparent glass.

4. The museum in the garden and the garden in the museum

A new Natural History Museum in the heart of Copenhagen is a fantastic gift to the city; it should be both the museum in the garden and the garden in the museum. Unlike a conventional museum, where the experience begins inside, it should become a Garden of Natural His- tory, a place where a stroll in the garden invites you into a natural historical journey and, vice versa, a visit inside gives you the experience of the garden. A visit to The Garden of Natural History is like a ‘‘walk in the park” that is neither tiring nor intrusive. We use the garden to create spatial variety within the museum, bringing daylight, vegetation, and views into interior spaces that are perfect for quiet contemplation. The Natural History Museum has one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive collections documenting the planet’s history. How can we both protect and display the collection? We propose a new museum model that is integrated respectfully within the landscape, opening up to allow glimpses into the museum through a series of cuts in the landscape – glimpses that inspire, invite, and invoke the curiosity of passers - by to venture inside for the full experience. In other words, we bring the collection into the experience of the garden.

5. Realize the idea of the open museum

This was clearly done through the idea of shaped roof of the building like an amphitheater so that the visitors can sit on it and watch the historic buildings within the context. And the architect also makes the roof of the building as an educational and cognitive path so the visitors can be aware of all of the historical context elements through walk on it. And also the architect has created internal spaces inside the museum for the purpose of ventilation underground rooms and halls of the museum, and in the same time linked and contacted with the educational and cognitive path with ramps so the visitors can see the historical context from inside the museum in the lower parts too.