The linear refugee camp

The museum

Here, the museum is the space in itself. Key to the organization of the exposition is the central hall in its original form, which is a kind of time capsule transporting visitors to the last century.

The hall is now a freely accessed vestibule space before the controlled area.

MUSEUM OF EMOTIONS theoretical research and concept design

11 semester, UACEG

Prof. Panayot Savov

The Museum of Emotions explores various hypotheses about the healing process of the crippled human spirit, asking: “Is a space that heals the soul possible at all, or does it only serve as a springboard to something beyond?” experimental models part one: filters

The monument to the Soviet Army has been standing in the heart of Sofia since 1954. It symbolizes the Russian support in freeing Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire. With time it has become a debate stage because of its political ideology and the controversial opinions it provokes in people.

Location map of Sofia

King’s memorial wide and orthogonally organised square in front of the monument

King’s gardens city area monument pond former King’s Zoo garden that contained it wild structure and abundand vegetation social filters and memories cult symbol of desire for freedom, self expression and political debate victory social layers

Hypothesis I

Genealogy of healing space

A healing place makes one feels calm and safe enough to collide with every mind construct that forbade him from connecting with the authentic self.

The monument as a portalmetaphor of the human essence intangible/unconscious blending with the surroundings social conditioning memorable events primal forgotten memories

The monument’s highly emotionally charged nature serves as a turning point of a collision between the personality and the trauma. This phenomenon creates a symbolic portal, an opportunity to face one’s inner struggles and overcome them and thus move closer to free the authentic self from the imposed stigmatized beliefs.

Imaginary Scenario

experimental models part two: interaction conscious/unconscious personal archive experimental models part three: portals

Change of meaning

At the bottom of the trauma healing hypotheses is changing the meaning of the event, place, or people that provoke it, but not their complete depersonalization. What if a well-known space becomes something else just by a small physical intervention?

The place becomes a homogenous field in which no single object except man himself dominates.

Thus the human soul subdues and creates everything around it. He takes his inherent creative role. The monument is no longer a giant that overtakes but a distant memory.

The white colored tiles suggest the longing for transgression and going beyond the visible.

Symbolic portals

The monument generates atmosphere around itself, resulting in a dense field of invisible systems bearing objective and poetic meanings. Some structural layers can be noticed through their physical manifestations in the adjacent area, while others remain entirely within the human psychogeography.

Hypothesis III

Intersection between systems

The subconscious determines the consciousness and all the mechanisms by which we function. That is why the space around the monument is defined as the conscious as we can see and touch it. The subconscious manifests through the orthogonal spatial network that projects onto the environment and defines it.

The interplay between these systems reprpesents a different version of portal, similar to hypothesis II.

The two systems form a new structure that homogenizes the field but also separates it in a new way into three typologies of space:

1. tunnels of the subconscious;

2. locked by the grid frame fields that are a fragmented manifestation of the mind, where, like artifacts in a museum, the bearers of trauma are sealed; portals

3. portals - through which you can pass between the two systems.

Variation 1 artefacts locked into the grid

Variation 2 exsisting park experimental models part four: intersection between systems

Hidden Existence

A workshop for EASA on the topic “REALITY” August, 2021 tutors: Stanimira Getova and Ivan Tsurov existing house of exploration participant tutor

The European Architecture Students Assembly (EASA) is organised by students, for students and offers an unique framework for education, accommodating a non institutionalised way of teaching, learning and exchange. It exists since 1981 and has succeeded the past 40 years because of the enthusiasm and the voluntary work the members of the community provide.

It gives a chance to experience architecture in a way that universities are not yet providing by bringing students to a certain context, defined by the different location and theme of the assembly each year, where they have to raise architectural questions themselves and investigate them through the eyes of all European cultures simultaneously.

HIDDEN EXISTENCE is an experimental case study of individuals experiencing the reality of blind people within different house typologies and observing their reactions, thoughts, and emotions concerning the space and when its perception feels like home.

For this purpose, the four scenarios were developed using wooden panels, fabrics, and quintessential home elements such as spices, candles, books, radio, and blankets to engage all human senses and explore their dimensions and ability to provoke powerful associations and memories.

Scenario 1: linear

This spatial organization portrays a straightforward approach to the home for a blind person that derives from most of the research papers investigated. According to most reports, the visually impaired find it easier to orient in a logically structured subsequent environment that guides them by tactile marks distinguishing the functional zones.

section scenario 1 plan scenario 1

Scenario 2: periphery

This scenario is a structural modification of the linear one while giving the inhabitant chance to navigate through space and choose in what sequence to experience it. All of the functional zones are distributed along the periphery and easily recognizable.

section scenario 2 plan scenario 2

Scenario 3: center

It aims to represent a ‘safe space’ in the middle that contains everything. This spatial planning presents the blindfolded with the opportunity to have all the essentials within hand reach and to explore whether this makes one feel more centered and at ease within the darkness.

Scenario 4 : chaos

It was a radical experiment challenging the participants’ psyche and their ability to adapt first to the fact that they cannot rely on their most used and fundamental sense and secondly to navigate through an illogically organized environment.

section scenario 3 section scenario 4 plan scenario 3 plan scenario 4

Through discussions and exercises, we challenged them to recreate together the spatial organization of the house according to their experience and memories.

Encompassed by all noted observations, the contrasting reflections between scenarios one and four are fundamental. While the linear distribution that contained a ritualistic axis leading to the cozy sofa surrounded by candles, in the end, had a calming effect and provoked deep emotional responses in the participants, the chaotic one evoked childhood memories and the “homo ludens” aspect in everyone making them open to outer exploration and playfulness rather than looking within.

All participants depicted their experience on a piece of paper (10cm by 10cm) in whatever manner they decided.

Photography

People and their relation to places personal project ongoing