Article source: Anna Klingmann

Exterior View of Museum

TREASURE BOX AS METAPHOR: A HIDDEN MYSTERY

Klingmann Architects and Brand Consultants’ competition entry for the new National Museum of Afghanistan envisions the institution as a compact jewel box concealing the treasure that history has entrusted to it piece by piece. For this reason, the box, though dense and hermetic on the outside, must be suggestive and magical on the inside. Seemingly simple and plain on the exterior, the box reveals the deep, rich and complex heritage of the people of Afghanistan on the interior. While the treasures are carefully embedded and protected deep within the box, they are not readily available to the onlooker. They remain a hidden mystery, longing to be discovered. We want to capture this sense of mystery and longing and The space within invites the visitor on a journey of unearthing and discovery. The space within is neither a mere organizing element, nor a beautiful but distant architecture. The exhibition’s experience has the ability to evoke places and people from a tiny yet resilient fragment of ceramic which has managed to survive, and which speaks of the fragility of time.

• Architects: Klingmann Architects & Brand Consultants
• Project: National Museum Of Afghanistan
• Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
• Site Area: 52700 m2
• Gross Floor Area: 24,300 m2
• Project Scope: Master Planning, Architectural Design, Landscape Design, Exhibition Design
• Project Type: Cultural: Museum
• Clients: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Information and Culture, The National Museum of Afghanistan, The Embassy of the United States of America – Kabul, Afghanistan, S.E.E |Office for Architecture and Design
• Design Team: Anna Klingmann, DongCheol Yang, Sarina Heres, Dominique Dassum, Andrew Brooks, Bing Wu, Zijian Xu
• Software used: Autocad, 3D max, Adobe Suite

(more…)