AdamBowenPortfolio2014

The complex is separated into two general program zones.

All the administration and educational spaces exist within the first excavation. This allows for quick access and non museum events too all take place in one area and do not interfere with the gallery experience. The gallery spaces now can act alone, allowing the visitor to fully feel the emotional qualities of the spaces and exhibits without any distractions.

When the visitor enters the main gallery hall, they are immediately overwhelmed by the scale of the space. The walls begin below them as they move along the walkway and stretch all the way up past the level of grade. These walls are not only tall, but also lean in on the visitor increasing the feeling of tension and uncertainty. Much like during the times of the cold war, the visitor is wary that at any moment everything they know could fall in on them.

In this space the visitor looks down on exhibits depicting events of the cold war, exhibits and events that look different depending on which wall you are standing on.

If the main gallery space becomes too overwhelming, the visitor can seek retreat in the more human scaled side galleries that run across the main hall. These galleries tell the stories of the characters and citizens affected by the cold war. Here is where visitors learn how people actually felt about the events depicted in the main hall gallery in an attempt to put a human face on the tragedy of war.