A museum client in Houston, Texas wanted our team to explore what a truly healthy museum could look like. The concept we explored was the thought of a building as an actual living thing itself, with its own skeleton and breathing skin.
The “skin” is proposed to be a parametric diagrid with fabric-like bubbles that can inflate and deflate according to the temperature and wind. The skin drapes over the “bones” underneath, which is the concrete structure housing the conditioned spaces. By using vertical circulation (something unorthodox for museum design), visitors first travel up to the top for views of the city and then circulate down the exterior. Also, stacking the program on six levels and offsetting each block creates space for green terraces on each floor.
The interstitial space between the “skin” and “bones” creates this protected outdoor environment for play, events, and exploration, blending the border between indoor and outdoor. Furthermore, the design gives back to those not attending the museum by providing public space adjacent to the main boulevard, connecting to the natural landscape of the park across the street.
Step One: Create Connections & Public Space
A diagram of the first formal move for the museum design, prioritizing the community impact and creating park space that connects with the adjacent landscape.
Step Two: Establish Vertical Circulation
A diagram showing how the circulation of the museum was designed, prioritizing bringing visitors up first and circulating them down and outside the bones.
Step Three: Program the Terraces & Levels
A program diagram showing how the required spaces can be organized to create the proposed terraces on six floors.
Design Proposal
A final axonometric drawing of the final museum design proposal, showing the green space within the museum floors, the protective skin, and the relationship to the park and community around it.
Event On A Terrace
A glimpse of a formal museum event happening within the interstitial space. Rendered in Enscape.
Ali Harwood Design 