DESA1002 'Nine Quarter City' - Cathie Chen

Abstract

The design process of the Isfahan Museum project sprouted from an interesting discovery of Isfahan’s beauty in historical architecture, arts and handcraft. With its origins dating back more than fifteen hundred years, the city is well established with many historical sites and traditions. I thought a contemporary art museum that aims to acknowledge and appreciate its own city’s rich cultural context could benefit and interest the people of modern day Isfahan. On my given site, I have chosen to locate the museum on the corner of a quadrangle, where the building can become a guided path from the public streets into a more private courtyard. Being on the south-eastern corner, the museum’s southern and eastern facades became a main focus in the design for program, structure and dressing of the frame. The building consists of three levels. Large, thick load-bearing walls made from clay brick seemed an appropriate choice for construction, with timber flooring and a light inner wall lining material for its interior. The main idea was to achieve a heavy-weight, earthy exterior appearance that would blend in with many more traditional buildings in Isfahan. These thick walls offer other purposes besides structure, such as carved-in seats and alcoves. It was suggested that the exterior should be fancifully decorated in tilework to contrast with an interior space that had a cleaner, more open and unadorned appearance will offer visitors a refreshing contrast and also accommodate for various art pieces to be displayed without distraction. Main features of the museums program include a combined café and shop that adjoins with the courtyard, an enclosed auditorium, and varied exhibition spaces for art works. The jewellery box became a distinct metaphor that helped visualise the concept of this small museum becoming a ‘container’ for treasured works. It is also representative in terms of structure, for a heavily decorated exterior juxtaposed with a clean and bare interior lining wall.