Before beginning the design process, we collected a precedent on our building function and one precedent on stone.
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
After coming across a number of precedents, I found this one particularly useful in terms of arrangement and composition. The field architecture aspect in this precedent allowed for easy flow between different exhibition rooms and tied all the functions of the space together. When applying this to a performance space, a similar approach to arrangement could be taken where functions can be placed according to their porosity to induce anxiety through surveillance.
The interior photo above shows the building enveloped in glazing, making it open and easily accessible to all. By allowing gaze into the building, SANAA aims to integrate this building into the city for everyone to visit.
21st Century Museum was designed to function as a park where anyone could gather at any time during the day and this was successfully achieved by its arrangement and porosity to the city.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews
When choosing a stone precedent, I was aiming to look for one that evoked strong emotion and therefore chose Memorial to the Murdered Jews. This museum was built by Peter Eisenman in 1999 in remembrance of all the Jews who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
The 2,711 grey concrete blocks of different heights ranging from zero to four stand out as a landmark, placed in a grid arrangement. This arrangement superimposed over the land topography allows viewers to walk on top of and between the concrete blocks.
The sharp edges and rectilinear shape of each concrete block evoke strong emotions. This is then reinforced by the monochrome colour of the space. When nothing on-site stands out, the people themselves stand out, creating a hyper awareness
More so, when walking through these concrete blocks these slabs of stone stand as large masses confronting viewers.
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