Museum for Children

The programme called for a museum that specialises in exhibitions for children. As such, the concept of materiality became a design issue related not only to the construction of the building but also as a mechanism to further the sensory experience for the children. Moreover, all the elements of the building were conceived in terms of their perspective. Thus, on the steps that slope down towards the front door there is a soft area where they can play and release their energy. Likewise, the southfacing angled slab which cantilevers away from the exhibition is 'furnished' with matresses and is visibly connected to the surrounding park, providing a place to lie down and take a rest from the exhibition while observing the park beneath. Different ambiences and views are created by the 'windows', that is, slots in the roof or the wall that permit daylight to enter and bounce off the interior walls. The technical equipment such as air conditioning ducts and elevators all run visibly throughout the building thereby becoming part of the exhibition. In addition to the exhibition spaces, the programme also included an auditorium, workshop, office space, fireplace, water basins and a garden for children to plant and grow vegetables and spices. This play of water and earth prompted the placement of the water basin along the south façade so that the water runs down a little waterfall and then to the basin on the west side. In order to emphasise planting and growing as distinct experiences, the building is connected to its surroundings by sloping the garden to the lower level. The building is molded into the park: natural and artificial landscapes intertwine within and throughout the building.