My Redesign

‘Diverse’, ‘Natural’ and ‘Open’; these three words will form the basis of my design and will hopefully inspire me in ways the Utzon was not. When I first saw the plans for this building and read about it, the word ‘natural’ came to mind, but it was nothing major. After modelling the building the way Utzon intended it to be, I have discovered natural form and relations within the design that are very pleasing and inspirational but more importantly, I have found opportunities to expand and explore on these ideas. My mind is quite full of thoughts relating to light, space, circulation and aesthetics and I am really looking forward to putting my ideas into practice.

So what does my redesign involve? Well let me start off by saying what I am removing. The ramp; I’m still not very fond of it so I am trying to work out how I can keep that sense of freedom and guidance without it. The reason I want to change it is because it seems too dominant and persistent and to me kind of confusing. So my problem is circulation. I was thinking of putting a more subtle ramp in the building, perhaps hugging a wall at a gentle slope instead of spiralling madly in the middle of the space. I will experiment. I would also like to incorporate the spiral staircase into my design but in a way that it merges into the ramp, bringing about sudden change as one walks into an entirely different space; Diversity.

My design will feature 3 main areas. These are the Ground Floor, the Open Underground Gallery, and my addition of a Roof Terrace. My reason for this is to replicate what is natural in our world and duplicate the diversity that exists around us.
I’ll start on the ground level. I am deciding to make this floor the most organised floor in terms of regularity and control. Why? Because that’s what it’s like on the ground that we live. Things are organised, things work a certain way. It’s only natural. There will be a hole in the middle of the floor which allows patrons to see into the gallery space below.
Now the roof terrace will be designed to give the patron an amazing view of the beautiful surroundings. They will be free to ponder and gaze on this level; it will be a wide, open space amongst nature itself. The extension will be on the ground level towards the back-right of the building. It will be of a curved nature continuing the flow of the existing curve. Stairs will take the patron up to an open balcony.
The part of the museum submerged underground will somewhat represent the feeling of being underwater. It is a massive space, yet it is still limiting like the ocean; open, yet confining. The ramp I make will take the patron deep into the bottom of this space where they can then move freely amongst the art. I felt that the existing ramp wasn’t capable of this.
To sum this up, I am trying to create three different experiences out of three different spaces which replicate the natural world and the way man interacts with it. The different feelings produced by these different environments would be interesting to incorporate into one building.