crypt museum

Zumthor’s Kolumba museum demonstrated a an atmospheric quality similar to what i intended for my own museum. Research into the construction also showed the micro-piling foundation system used to reinforce the ruins so that they could be built on, thus encouraging me to develop a direct relationship between the new structure i proposed and the archaeological remains

Plan iteration

Earlier iteration of Crypt plan utilised a snaking walkway, similar to that in the Kolumba Museum. However, due the high numbers of visitors required to pass through the space at once, this system seemed impractical in my own design.

The cathedral Museums labyrinthine layout was designed to take visitors on a walk through the history of Notre Dame, showing them objects related to the churches past and culminating in a display about the restoration. This new museum is intended to encourage people to interact with the history and story of the building and island, in an attempt to engage visitors and help foster an appreciation of the building as more than just an essential stop on the tourist trail.

Primer Exhibition

.The layout of the museum was inspired by our Primer exhibition, which forced people to interact with our research on the cathedral by placing the large collages in the peoples path. This idea that learning should feel like a process of exploration was an interesting idea i was keen to develop further

Maze-like Plans

This sketch was drawn during Primer as concept for my initial massing. I abandoned the idea of a maze-like structure above ground, but picked the idea up again for the basement, during synthesis, where the structure seemed far more appropriate and beneficial to my scheme