PERA MUSEUM
An architectural review and analysis of the building Architect: Dr. M. Sinan Genim Original Architect: Achille Manoussos Booklet by: Sara Rachdan Mhd Awwab Lababidi
Index:
2
Orientation
.1
The Art & Architecture Behind The Pera Museum
.2
Between The Art & The Observer
.3
Spatial Canvas
.4
Critiques
.5
References
.6
PERA MUSEUM
ORIENTATION Location: Through the crowded street of Istiklal, passed the bohemian feel of Salt Beyoglu, you find yourself by the tallest building on Istiklal, The Odakule Tower, passing through it’s small alleyway, you are met with The Pera Museum to your left.
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Advertising: The advertising for the exhibitions is very limited and targeted towards
it’s
own
audience. The only billboards within
located it’s
own
premises was along its own walls and within the alleyway leading towards the museum.
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The history of the museum: The Pera Museum opened its doors in early June 2005, with the aid of the Suna and Inan Kirac Foundation in the heart of Istanbul. Originally constructed by Achille Manoussos in 1893, the building served as a hotel, under the name of “Bristol Hotel”. The building was completely renovated By the architect : Dr. M. Sinan Genim to serve as a museum and a cultural center. Exhibiting The Foundation Collections in the permanent section of the museum, along with the a vast variety of temporary exhibitions, films and conferences.
The Bristol 1893
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PERA MUSEUM
Throughout
the
years
some
of
the
most
internationally acclaimed artists have made the Pera Museum what it is today with their collections being displayed, such as; Jean Dubuffet, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rembrandt, Niko Pirosmani, Josef Koudelka, Joan Mir贸, Akira Kurosawa, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Goya.
Size of The Gallery: Building Area: 3580 m2 Site Area: 473.80 m2
7
THE ART & ARCHITECTURE BEHIND THE PERA MUSEUM Type of Architecture: The exterior of the Pera Museum has a Neoclassical approach as it was built in the 19th century. Since the interior was converted from a hotel to both a museum and exhibition, it underwent a modern restoration, with a contemporary approach and wide columnless spaces.
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PERA MUSEUM
1st floor 2005
2nd floor 2005
5th floor 2005
4th floor 2005
3rd floor 2005
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Materials used: At 1st you are greeted with a small entrance crammed with a security check and a small staircase. Along the side of both the entrance and the staircase, is a small gift shop on the higher level, passed the staircase you are faced with the tightly spaced information desk. To the left, you move on to the core of the building, which inhabits one staircase, two elevators and the lavatories, beyond the core comes the grand coffee shop with matching area to the larger exhibition spaces.
1st floor
Although the exterior has a stone finish, the interior of the building has a simple paint finish, specific to each exhibition, for instance the permanent museum has 4 different colours used in accordance to each section. The sections of the museum are split into 2 galleries per floor. The 1st Floor contains the Ottoman tools gallery which is entire painted in black, with dark floor tile and dim lighting, while the 2nd gallery, “Coffee Break” was accented with faded blue paint along with the black 1st floor
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interior.
4th floor
As for the 2nd Floor of the permanent galleries, the interior split into 2 by colour and a half wall, separating the two galleries but not disturbing the circulation. Both galleries displayed painting, the red displaying The “Ambassador’s Artist” gallery, and the green displaying “The Tortoise Trainer”. Moving to the temporary exhibition area, during the biennial the spaces followed the concept of a “White Cube”, not disruption any of artworks.
5th floor
2nd floor
4th floor
2nd floor
3rd floor
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BETWEEN THE ART & THE OBSERVER
Basement Floor
Ground Floor
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PERA MUSEUM
2nd Floor
1st Floor
3rd Floor 4th Floor 5th Floor
Elevation Floor Viewer's potential pathway Exhibited material
Section
13
SPATIAL CANVAS In the case of the Istanbul Biennial, a bare setting was used, using plain white was, polished floors, sealed white blinds on the 5th floor, whereas all the other floors’ windows were all sealed off by means of curtain walls. As for lighting, artificial white overhanging lights were used, this concept is called the White Cube, which will be further explained in the following paragraph.
Taking this into retrospect, we can explain what “contemporary” means when it comes to art spaces. The word “contemporary” itself when broken down it’s infact temporary,
which
applies
to
most
exhibitions. Temporary art spaces almost always follow the White Cube concept, but not for the fact of it being a trend or simply mainstream, but due to the fact of it being timeless. The space should emphasis the
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PERA MUSEUM
art and not cause any form of visual disturbance which is usually caused by colours and ornamentation, it should be a clear canvas for the the artists’ creations, which is what the White Cube presents. As mentioned
by
Brian
O’Doherty
“unshadowed, white, clean, artificial – the space is devoted to the technology of esthetics. Works of art are mounted, hung, scattered for study. Their ungrubby surfaces are untouched by time and its vicissitudes. Art exists in a kind of eternity
of display, and though there is lots of “period” (late modern), there is no time. This eternity gives the gallery a limbo like status; one has to have died already to be there.” This strategy is used in the exhibition spaces of the Pera Museum. As for its permanent space the Pera Museum
follows
a
more
classical
approach, using colours such as red, though it accents the vintage style frame of the paintings, in a way it also creates a more local feel, though communicated globally by means of text.
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CRITIQUES The spatial organisation of the museum seemed a bit unplanned at the entrance, the space was very tight, crammed with a security check and it felt as though the gift shop took up most of the space of the entrance, while it possibly could have been shifted toward the cafe in order to create a more exaggerated entrance space. Though it is quite difficult to really exaggerated with the building, as the spaces are quite small, this difficulty is believed to be the reason behind the minimalism at the information desk. Overall, the building has a very simple approach due to its limited space. Though, throughout the the different levels of the building seemed to have a sort of gradient for the different heights of the ceilings, bright colours and the different lightings with the coming of each floor.
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As we move on to the details of the spaces within the museum, we come to it’s walls, more specifically it’s colours, when you reach the 1st floor you are struck by complete darkness, the walls, the flooring and the ceiling tiles are almost all black, the ceiling is low and light is focused mainly towards the artifacts displayed, though this seemed to be intended in order to emphasis what is displayed it seemed to create a sort of anxious atmosphere, it seemed unwelcoming.
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On the next level a sort of contrast is
floors, the colour is toned down to a plain
created to the 1st floor, the walls are highly
white which complements the art quite
saturated in a colour of red, though it is
well, it creates what is noticed as a spatial
believed to accent the vintage framing of
canvas incorporating the space into the art
the art in a luxurious manner, it gives quite a
creating one canvas for all the artwork, a
heavy feel to the space, which after some
sort of unification within the works of the
time beginning to create a sort of visual
biennial, this goes on to the create a clear
disturbance for the observer. Beyond these
vision for the observer with no distraction.
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As for the organisation of the circulation
random, the sculptures seemed to be
and the organisation of the art displayed,
placed
circulation seems quite free, there is no
location, they didn’t have a speciďŹ c pattern.
set path for the observer to fully
Aside from the sculptures, the hung
experience the art, though some might
artworks seemed to be placed without
argue that the freedom of the circulation
connection, for instance, there were a few
allows the obverse to choose to follow
industrial design paintings and sculptures
their own interests, but with the usage of
place near a collection of graphic novel art,
some elements it would have been
in the case of retail they may be
possible to at least create a sort of visual
connected, but that did not seem to be the
path, possibly a certain light pattern or
idea behind it, as it did not seem to have an
oor pattern, leaving it to the imagination
idea. Different categories seemed to be
to create the path. This leads us to the art
grouped together without purpose.
without
reason
behind
their
pieces themselves, which seemed quite
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References blog.peramuzesi.org.tr www.homify.com.tr www.sinangenim.com www.buildingdecoration.net
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MHD AWWAB LABABIDI
SARA RACHDAN