MUSEUM OF THE PAST DIVISION
CITY
Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus and the last divided city in Europe. The city is compose of three parts: the northern part controlled by Turkish Cypriot, the southern part controlled by Greek Cypriot, and the middle buffer zone controlled by the UN. The location of the museum is in middle of the buffer zone, at the crossing point in Ledra Street that connects southern and northern Nicosia. Ledra Street is the main shopping street in the city and attracts lots of visitors. The street is quite narrow, and buildings are closed towards the street.
GARDEN
Due to the scarcity of public space in the old city, I propose a garden which performs as a transition space between the city and the museum. I was inspired by the typology of the roman garden, which is closed towards the outside, has an open-air public space filled with plants and art pieces, and has a colonnade around. The garden not only serves as an entrance space for the museum, it creates a new public space for gathering and memorial. contrast to the museum which is a warehouse filled with monuments from the past, the garden is a space of hollowness for activities of the contemporary.
MUSEUM
The main exhibition space is a half underground warehouse filled with monuments from both sides of Cyprus. It is a large flexible hall where statues of war heroes, politicians, independence, king, goddess, poet, actor, and movement leaders are placed in a free way. The construction was inspired by Nordic Pavilion designed by Sverre Fehn. Roof is composed of double layers of beams, creating a large space without columns. Lower beams are larger and separate the space into seven parts. Higher beams are smaller and denser, filtering the strong local light.
YUNING SONG