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Our approach to tackling the counter brief (i.e. a museum without galleries) concentrates on collection, conservation, and display. Our precedents include the Guggenheim Museum and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. We also visited some of New York’s most celebrated museums and learned that there is little room for storage; most art storage is located off-site in storage facilities.
Our proposition rethinks the museum space as an art warehouse/storage facility, where we provide storage capacity and holding space for other city museums which do not have the means to store multiple paintings; as well as provide a range of viewing experiences with our design—opening up the once compact definition of a museum.
The sheer volume of art itself provides a learning opportunity. As one moves from landing to landing, the design recalls the elements of the seamless landscapes of the Louisiana Museum; landing impersonates landscape, making it (and the armature of the art within it) a display. It also recalls the flow of the Guggenheim which allows for multiple viewing opportunities. We challenge the efficiency and compactness of a regular storage facility where art is typically stored by providing “ornamental” meandering pathways for viewing art.