1 Idea
Design of museum is a metaphor of real excavation site. The purpose is to explain clearly scientific and analytic approach towards history and knowledge. The architecture emphasizes essence and purpose of the museum, illustrates prehistoric discovery and research.
2 Space structure
The main elements of composition are museum plaza as excavation, cubes on the plaza as places of discovery, construction net as coordinate excavation net. The idea of museum is to join to surrounding landscape context and to supplement the prehistoric site. The location of museum below the existing ground level, neighbouring the most attractive part of basalt precipice, points out close relation with the site. This is a part of prehistory, attraction constantly discovered. Cube boxes typical for excavation site are the architectural icon.
3 Composition net
Chronological approach towards museum discovery and orthogonal net allow to point location of object, to create a precisely defined, measurable space. For new building which is set in organic environment of Hantan river meander, the ordering net is the construction and composition net as well as perpendicular system of external walls of main museum space.
4 Design
Vertical walls of the excavation and the basalt precipice limit the Museum plaza. Spaces created between cube boxes are dynamic and interesting to let visitors experience the truth spirit of prehistory. The cubes as skylights allow view into the interior, as wall screen allow multimedia projection, as dividing structure limit the facilities areas like entries, meetings, cafe, open-air cinema and external exhibition. Totally exposed basalt precipice is a natural exhibit fully touchable from each museum level. Mild external stairs adjacent to the slope lead from plaza to top of precipice. They are the element of exhibition scenario too. There is an exception among cubes on the museum site. This is a transparent museum logo tower with observation deck on the top. Stairs and elevator inside lead to Prehistoric Park and Outdoor Exhibition on the upper level of prehistoric site. Tower functions as a dominant site, visible and significant logo luminous at night. The museum is located below the plaza level. The main idea of the internal space is to create a feeling of a prehistoric cave. While visiting the museum, one passes places of different light, width and height. Main spaces are arranged close to basalt precipice, where daylight slips through narrow skylight at the basalt wall. This is going to be the most interesting part of the museum. Exhibition and education are limited by mobile dividing walls according to the composition and construction net. Chimney-like cube skylights in the ceiling create cave emotion inside. They are arguments to arrange interior exhibition, to place the most precious exhibits there, sun-lighted from above.
5 Tour
There are three ways to enter the museum plaza. The main one leads from street level through the entrance ramp. The other ones from upper Prehistoric Site and Outdoor Exhibition level through a tower or through a landscape outdoor stairs adjacent to basalt cliff. Both of them let visitors see from above and understand the idea of whole arrangement in architectural frame, while standing on the museum excavation bank or on the precipice edge. After walking through dark ramp corridor or transparent tower or cliff stairs one will stand on the plaza full of light and shadows. Maze among cube boxes let one reach plaza attractions. The museum entrance goes through the large plaza stairs in front of the plaza ramp. Sequence of different character spaces is a multi cavern cave-like image. After gone down one can see the whole interior space: public amenities, overall view of exhibition and the ramp to exhibition and education level. As the greatest asset the basalt precipice wall is fully touchable exhibit in the interior of the building.
6 Exhibition
Scenario of the exhibition using the museum plan may be shaped in a few different ways. The open space filled with skylights allows flexible arrangement. The proposal is to define square exhibition cavern-spaces connected to each other by path leading through the mankind history. The purpose is to express human brain activity articulation through it’s material products found buried in the ground. More time for evolution > more complete brain > more variables > more intellectual > more sensitive > more human > more technical > more cyber > more .... The museum is a total exhibition place where people walk inside the history. They can see exhibited items in multi disciplinary and multi plane way. They can see them from different perspectives: from the excavation edge (the first image of the museum), climbing the top of a cliff (touching the basalt), from the tower observation deck (skylights of excavation cubes), from the plaza level (walking among cubes and looking down inside the museum interior through them), from the main museum hall (moving images displayed on horizontal excavation walls), inside cave-like cells to get the most detailed information about prehistoric humans. Bringing the archeology and history forward step by step is the way to intrigue and make visitors really interested in. The intention of the design is to create a touchable space. The history is discovered by visitors in creative and interactive way. They become a part of scenario while working at the educational workshops on the plaza, striking a fire with flints or watching an outdoor display. The main exhibits inside the museum are archeologic treasures of 300 Jeongok-ri site remains and phenomena of basalt precipice. That is why the arrangement of the display focuses on them. Jeongok-ri remains are placed under the excavation skylights to get the most significant exposition in the whole interior. The precipice is a main attraction in a museum hall, sun lighted from above. The exhibition is supplemented by active and passive multimedia presentations. When all variables are becoming material they vividly impact the space.
7 Museum Site
There is an artificial flowing river-like landscape created slightly on the area of Museum Site, in front of the museum. The purpose is to focus and socialize all future functions located in the close neighbourhood. Integration of those areas is the main urban idea. So the museum stone plaza surrounded by the natural forest and accessed by ramp from designed river-shaped grass mall is the central space of the whole Museum Site. Plaza is the key point of visitor’s tour of prehistoric site. Here is the crossing of all pedestrian’s routes. From here footpaths lead to Museum, Prehistoric Park, Outdoor Exhibition, Amusement Park and History Culture Village. The views on the landscape valley and highlands determine the design. The effort is put in creating the museum building and the museum site in a soft architectural way. The site is formed as recreating trace of prehistoric river which accumulates geological sediments through history. Prehistoric humans lived on the river bank. They have chosen the best place on Earth to live. Now this is the place to be experienced by contemporary people. The space accommodates functions appropriate to civilized men. The mild lines of routes, pedestrian ways and parking refer to the environment of that river. Only small landscape elements like footpaths, lounge and rest areas complete this quiet surrounding arrangement. The arrangement is friendly for contemplation of contemporary Hantan river meander. “River site” as soft, picturesque but dynamic form is a symbol of unpredictable forces of nature, including humans, constantly creating landscape, Earth.
8 Material
Abstractive, symbolic image of the design suggests to use simple and lucid means of expression. The form of internal and external space is designed as coherent in used forms and materials. White feeling inside is a quiet natural environment for exhibition. Sunlighted white and smooth limestone finishing outside with black basalt precipice background and white gravel floor create the public space full of shadows and tensions. Monochromatic plaza of greyscale character in contrast to green landscape surrounding is a clear dominant phenomena. Glass logo tower visible from the highway becomes at night a light tower symbolizing the exhibition theme. The landscape design of the museum site (pedestrian and vehicle mall) is a spatial continuation of surrounding natural environment. Slightly sloped grass meadows of the mall and curved paths follow the slope’s curves creating a multipurpose plateau. The material of design are plants and area morphology. Clear separation of materials that have been used (architectural museum vs landscape site) strenghtens the main idea of excavation.
9 Area tabulation 5.000sqm