freedom: Kunsthaus Extension Project in Zurich

What is a museum?

Now a days we are easily able to see Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci on Internet. We are also easily able to Louvre Museum in France. What is the difference seeing in it on the monitor or at Louvre? In the increase of World Wide Web we are now able to grasp information easier than before. But at the same time we are to face the danger of something. Are we fully understanding the object on the monitor? We are now in the lack of sense and experience. Here, one gigantic sculpture generated by pure mathematical calculation is standing in front of important urban void, and people experience inside and outside with being attracted by this mystic geometry.
The aim of the design was to generate a strong form that involves the context of each elements in order to build a museum. The urbanism, existence, spine of the university district, circulation, program, structure, entrance and light. In order to solve each of these elements, the 3D voronoi script from Rhino has been used. This script has been analyzed and fully controlled to generate a form for this new extension of Kunsthaus. In result, the form which has each elements related to each other have been generated succeessfully.

In day time, the museum will form a simple box by the glass facade. In night time, the glass will be turned into transparent and the main core, generated from the script will show its form as the sun light turns away. The light from the main museum space will shoot out to the urban and state a starting and end point for the university district.

Since the location of the site was the start and end point of the spine of university district, a non-hierarchy public space is made at the first floor. People are to stop by and go through the first floor as well as entering and paying for museum. The main gallery space on the second floor is a wide space without any columns (4,200 square meters). The structure generated by the Rhino script is used to express the beauty of the form and to create a wide non-columns space functionally.