Museum of Contemporary Art // Nugegoda

University of Moratuwa (UoM), Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Moratuwa

Project idea

Design Idea

How one can convey the essence of contemporary art to the public sphere? Defining an architectural language that symbolizes contemporary art is impossible. The real question arises when giving an embodiment to the world of contemporary art and we can’t restrict it into a single building form. But rather we can try to identify some of its core characteristics that make a piece of art contemporary art.

This is done by exposing the pedestrians to a series of spaces where it will ignite the feelings that arise when people experience a change in their everyday lived experience, in a flash or over time, and in doing so altering their perception in reality. Because contemporary art could be anything that has the ability to do so. The more time they spend interacting with those spaces, the more their perception changes and allows them to see and understand it even further. This design explores the experiences, as well as the ways of seeing and thinking, that define that specific moment.

In Sri Lanka, the general public wouldn’t visit museums unless they are being guided and directed. Even the conventional museums have been designed to guide people that would make the museums eventually boring. But I believe that visitors themselves have to explore the spaces with curiosity. This design highlights and emphasizes the lacking features and elements of unadventurous museums which produces the complete opposite model of the conventional museums. This project challenges conventional museums by contrasting itself to the old-style museum format.

This project challenges conventional museums by contrasting itself to the old-style museum format. It symbolizes the free spirit of contemporary art: The exhibits aren’t kept in contained private spaces but rather embedded in the journey through the museum and are often created by the visitors themselves which turns them into a part of the museum while engaging actively.

Contemporary art is the fine line between obvious and unpredictable. Similarly, this building is the embodiment of that quality as it has a constantly changing environment and you never know what you are going to get. An ever-changing building is far more engaging than a static building that will be left unnoticed within a short period of time like all museums in Sri Lanka. By proposing a continuously changing environment an equal positive transformation in society can be expected.

Project description

Site

Nugegoda is one of the largest densely populated suburbs in the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Central Nugegoda is a collection of densely packed shops and mixed residential areas. Nugegoda is a city with a higher development rate as it grew larger and faster within a few decades and will keep growing. During the Kingdom of Kotte, art and literature were some of the most flourished fields. At present, a number of educational institutes from schools to private classes can be found in Nugegoda and the city can be even called the largest education hub in Colombo.
The site we’ve been assigned has a lot of potentials as it is at an intersection of the two roads. The two roads that face the two adjacent sides of the site have two different characters and densities which gives both a symbolic value and a physical value to the site.

Learning from the city

Nugegoda is a city with a faster developing rate and has grown organically as it was designed around the needs of the individuals and the society. Cities that grow organically are also being designed according to their morphology. Similarly, the Museum of Contemporary art at Nugegoda has been designed organically by carefully placing the museum in a way as it has been embedded to the city life by creating an Interweaving of city, architecture, and people.

Present situation

Many Sri Lankans have misconceptions about what museums and art galleries are and what they offer. Many think all museums are these quiet halls that have an old-fashioned atmosphere and are filled with art appreciators who might judge the average person for having no clue at all. Some art on display might be too mystifying to see and we wouldn’t even reveal our confusion for fear of seeming foolish. Hence begins the clear disconnection between the average person and museums in Sri Lanka. People feel like museums are places where they need to be smart, quiet, focused. Instead, museums should be places where people could feel curious, relaxed, entertained, and provoke thoughts.

Sri Lankan museums have already set an image on the general public’s heads where they are perceived as “quiet” and “unapproachable” places, hence they are seen as anti-skid friendly places. In our case, it is clear that Nugegoda is acting as an educational hub filled with young students. So, following what locals have been practicing is undoubtedly not an option when introducing a contemporary art museum to the city.

Technical information

Design Strategies

01. Comfortable circulation routes created by shifting concrete fins create spontaneous gaps with surprise and curiosity that can accommodate outdoor performances and exhibitions which also provide shorter routes for circulation in some cases.

02. Open-ended plan encourages people to penetrate the site from all four directions without a specific hierarchy for circulation. Which provides the visitors an infinite number of possible routes to circulate.

03. When one enters through the fins it takes them to a very different type of atmosphere compared to that of the immediately adjacent roads and the surroundings. Predominantly something someone can’t expect and experience from this part of the city.

04. Not just to the pedestrians passing by, the fins would also give a visual experience to the vehicles as well. Fast-moving vehicles would merely notice a rhythmic pattern when going by.

05. The fins also work as an insulator to cut down all the traffic noise that could ruin the experience. Because of that, more small-scale performances and events could take place at the same time within the spontaneous gaps without obstructing each performance.

06. The ground-level built space has been merely changed after the design intervention as the museum creates larger voids between the fins which is still a part of the urban landscape. The museum gives back the site to the city and the community not as just another open space but in a form of an urban sculpture that creates a seamless experience between the city and the art world.

07. Program of the building has been spread into different volumes without creating a single massive expansion. The use of different volumes, cantilevers, and setbacks remind the tensions and complexity of the urban landscape in Nugegoda.

Program distribution

i. Upper level

Structures have been elevated and distributed among volumes in order to give back the site to the city and the community not as just another open space but in a form of an urban sculpture that creates a seamless experience between the city and the art world.

ii. Street-level

Public performances, events, and exhibitions will take place on the street level which creates a subtle flow between the museum and the streets.

Building Composition

Lack of community participation and social inclusiveness is one of the biggest missing elements in conventional museums. This museum is composed of different spatial elements that enable people to have a collective experience on a street level. They are performance art seating,
Public speaking podium + Performance art seating and
Outdoor exhibition roof

Analogy I - Tower on Wheels

Relating to the everchanging surroundings of a city is complicated by the fact that Nugegoda city has a faster rate of growth and development. Towers by their very nature are detached from its surrounding and street level. Towers on wheels is a straddle carrier integrated with architectural plug-ins and has absolutely zero attachments with the site whatsoever. In search of references for towers in Nugegoda first tower that comes to our mind is the simple utilitarian tower at the Nugegoda open-air theater. A simple design with the sole purpose of elevating a function physically in order to create a sense of presence around the site and notify the surrounding. Similarly, the tower on wheels sets a presence around the site and elevates its functions to a higher level where everyone can see the events while adapting to the ever-changing surroundings of the Nugegoda city.

Analogy II - Freedom of Expression

The open-air theater at the site was accountable for a major number of political meetings that allowed people to use their freedom of expression. Now, the theater not being there anymore can’t diminish the political value it had. The museum still provides a democratic participative environment and an experience. The museum also acts as an advocate for political morals as it lets anyone use their freedom of expression as a form of art while accommodating conventional meetings. The concrete fins act as canvases allowing people to freely express themselves. Within time the walls will evolve and absorb the colors of the city and will become a part of it. In this case, the visitors themselves activate the museum and will take ownership of the museum. Periodically best content will be selected and exhibited on the walls themselves while preserving it using a temporary structure.

Documentation

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