MUSEUM OF ETHNOGRAPHY

Set in the historical centre of Geneva this competition gives the opportunity to express the rule of a new cultural facility in historical centres, balanced between the urban existing language and rules and the need to express a new identity. The rule of a museum as a contemporary sign in the city where people can recognize their belonging to their own era is a theme of discussion that recalls the fights of the academie of france in the past centuries. The proposal foresees a compact volume clad with natural stone that sets itself as a boulder raising from the ground cut on the city level to get the people inside of it. Due to the dense program, almost of half of the functions are displayed  underground. The idea is to build a internal shell that can offer flexibility as well as a unique experience at the same time. That’s why the internal spaces are designed on a regular geometry in their structure. The display of the exhibits will than design the experiencing of the etnographical trip throughout history according to the needs of the curators using the building as a metaphore of a  loose boulder shaped from ancient flows of water and raising within the urban structure of the city of Geneva.