VOL.3 LEST WE FORGET

from Architecture Portfolio - Chen Yanyu

VOL.2 URBAN OASIS

The Drama House Project ‘Lest We Forget’ is responsive to Beehive Casemate in Mosman, Sydney which was an obsolete fortification. This project would sit on the antipodean harbour that it meets sometimes calm and glistening and at others with the full force of nature. That is the sweep of watery expanse that this project adopts as its territory in place of the typical demarcated site for an architectural project that is a plot of land unmoving and bound. As Australia is a separate continent surrounded by oceans, the history of invasion and defence is rich. However, for Australia’s inhabitants, forgetting has occurred too often when it comes to the military.

In order to evoke historical memories to the public, two theatres and a central leisure area are designed based on the local context situation and the features of Sydney’s fortifications. Grid and Contrast are the key elements of the design. For emphasizing the difference between the dread and powerlessness in the war period and the peace and hopefulness in the post-war period, I would design two theatres in great contrast.

The dark, small and interactive theatre creates a depressive atmosphere for connecting visitors with deep tragedy across spatial divides. The big, bright and open theatre uses a gentler way to tell the audience concerning the preciousness of the post-war world. The central area is a relaxed gathering place as an extension of the old casemate and a combination of two contrasting theatres.

COLLAGE- GRID