EXPLODED-MUSEUM

Architectural Design Studio 1 - 2019

Pavilion - Museum Extention

Tutors: Marco Navarra - Francesca Zanotto - Chiara Nifosi

Academic Project - Collaborative Santo Pietro, Sicily, Italy

Bosco di Santo Pietro is an oriented natural reserve in Sicily which is one of the significant sites in the territory in terms of botany. At the very corner of the site “Museo Naturalistico Bosco di Santo Pietro” is located. Exploded Museum is an architectonic intervention on the site in order to reactivate the village and to enhance the performance of the museum in a much more significant and collaborative way. The design principle is to construct pavilions on site to optimize the museum and also to invite the local to more participate in the construction phases.

The design is consisted of three cubic wooden towers which site on empty space between the trees. These small towers are mainly extended functions of the museum which have penetrated the forest. They are interconnected through wooden promenade connecting the main platforms beneath the pavilions. They function mainly as exhibition space but due to the arrangement of these towers and the trajectory established by the promenade the visitors can simultaneously enjoy and observe the naturalistic features of the site.

The design task is to reactivate an area in borgo santo pietro (sicily) which includes an existing and active naturalistic museum and an abandoned trapshooting.

The project consists in the extension of the museum with the introduction in the forest and adding in the building a zoology lab, a botany lab and an anti-desertification lab. The extension is provided by the use of wood pavilions in the forest. The position of the pavilions follows a study of the voids present in the forest in order to simultaneously take advantage and preserve the environment as much as possible.

For the abandoned trapshooting area, it is expected the development of a medical plants lab, a plant nursery and a reforestation lab. Two greenhouses and an open field are added to be used from the labs. There is also a rammed earth pavilion as market with the products created by these labs and another one used as a cafeteria.

Master Plan - Existing Meusum Extention