‘‘If you will stay close to nature,
to its simplicity, to the small things
hardly noticeable,
those things can unexpectedly become
great and immeasurable.’’
-Rainer Maria Rilke
How do we create a space that transforms confrontation into coexistence?
How do we balance out the many dualities that arise? Where and how do we find the human measure against the
vast nature? How do we balance the immense scale of the forest with the micro scale of the chair? And finally, how do we integrate culturally and contextually in order to create a dynamic museum
at the edge of the forest?
The architectural response that I used for this project to balance all these binaries and to resolve the specificities was the type of the line.
The program is divided into a public sphere and a restricted one. It is meant for scholars and for visitors. The archive, in combination with a workshop to repair and study the chairs. And the museum
which has the public uses of exhibition display, gift shop, the cafe and restaurant and the administration.
The main area of intervention at the site will be the point where the existing clearing is located and simultaneously it is the turning point of the site from a steep area to a flatter zone
The whole concept can be described into 3 gestures.
1 A heavy plinth situated in the ground in parallel to the contours adapting to the forces of the site
2 a solid wooden bar placed on top of the plinth framing the archive and the public uses of the museum
3 a thinner perforated box on top of the bar which signifies the point of entrance and hosts the space of exhibitions
This creative challenge creates an incredible possibility. It is the possibility of putting the source and the end product, the chair and the forest, in such a close proximity that their meaning is
enriched by this confrontation and coexistence. And of course this possibility would not be feasible without architecture framing the space.