factory under re-view

The museum, proposed by the local government has been specifically designed to occupy one of the former factories by the banks of the river. This spot is highly strategic: not only for its proximity to the main arteries of the city, but also for the protection of the valuable surrounding landscapes, along with the conversion of the old structure.

The three main buildings will be transformed into the principal parts of the program: a permanent exhibition, a temporary exhibition and administrative and leisure adjoining services. This metamorphosis intends to maintain the factory’s identity, converting them into neutral volumes whose façade is composed by simple openings homogenized with a single material.

Steel angular shapes become a lightweight structure, unfolding and connecting different spaces, embracing the three volumes and providing a unifying image of the whole.
Several elevated walkways connect the buildings, ending up on the roof with a special relevance. This is the culmination of the exhibition, a multifunctional terrace from which visitors contemplate the unfolding landscape; also, its reverse shape allows a neutral light to come through the interior spaces.

The main volume, used for machinery in the old days, is drilled on the interior to house a central atrium around which visitors can stroll and view the showrooms. This high-rise space becomes the heart of the museum, and is the reference point and the entry point, which articulates the internal pathway.

While the former industrial parcel was a confined space with limited access, the new museum opens to the city like a green lung. It is intended that the museum, far from being a mere collection of pieces on display, will be understood as an element to be explored in relation to the landscape.