Smout, M.; Allen, L.; (2002) Blooming landscape. [Design].

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Abstract

The project is a response to the competition brief for the relocated Museum of Egyptian Culture, which asked for an extensive range of spaces on an exposed site in Giza and four landscaped territories that ‘exhibit’ the varied Egyptian landscape. The site is manipulated as conceptual archaeology. A ‘deep surface’ punctures, excavates and compresses around vast galleries, responding to Egypt’s indigenous landscape and architectural traditions. Subterranean galleries are connected by chasms for ventilation, circulation and division of the collection. The landscape and roof structures are merged into stratified layers and interstitial spaces to combat the extremes of the local environment. These are configured with zones of bright sun and deep shade, draught corridors and plenum spaces. Questions/aims/objectives: This proposal aims to reinterpret notions of architectural space and landscape design and to investigate the roles of boundary and facade. The project questions whether traditional vernacular technologies can be re-appropriated today to provide the sensitive environment required for the display and storage of antiquities. Contexts: Ancient Egyptian gardens plotted with trees, groves and pools in symmetrical arrangements create synthesis between building and landscape via levels, terraces and viewpoints. This project aims to reinterpret these notions and test them against the rigorous demands of the contemporary museum environment. Methods: design investigations are tested through prototype and iteration as a research method. Vernacular technologies are studied and reinvented with the aim of reducing the architecture’s reliance on artificial environmental control.

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