Apostolopoulos Tasoulis in collaboration with the Baile Menduiña architectural office, participate in the architecture competition “conceptual architectural design of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Natural History Museum and park of Arts & culture with associated cultural facilities” organised by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property Montenegro. In their competition entry they develop their vision for a ‘Museum complex’.
A complex of building volumes with different proportions defines anew the historical park of Morača Barracks and simultaneously suggests a new cultural landmark for the capital city of Podgorica.
They conform an aggregation with controlled scale, which respects the presence of the preserved green core. They enhance the existing qualities of the site and carefully connect the different park areas. They adapt to the demands of the contrasting site conditions and propose a new international point of cultural reference for Montenegro.
Located at the city center limit, the entrance pavilion of the park is configured as a linear tower. Its height blends with the preserved cypress trees and simultaneously defines the entrance square of the new development.
The Museum of Contemporary Art and the Natural History Museum are organised on the cliff edge towards the riverfront. The elevation of the volume defines the facade of the city towards Morača river, while suggesting a new access towards the natural landscape.
The section of the inserted volume allows the extended infrastructure to maintain a discreet presence in the park and simultaneously to suggest an accessible botanical garden which covers the complex and extends the public green area.
Behind this monolithic facade, the fragmented geometries of the two museums are organised around a common point of reference, Museum Square.
A public space opens to the natural elements that surround the plot. Museum passages and public space blend with the views of the park and the riverfront while defining the new identity of the campus.
The two museums operate individually, but also in conjunction, forming a continuous organism that can be constructed into consecutive phases.
Different volumes formed as robust masses playfully blend with the impressive trees of the preserved park and the harsh rocky landscape of the riverfront.
They are considered out of rammed concrete. An artificial material that incorporates aggregates and soil from the site and contrasts the organic shapes of nature.
Facts & Credits
Typology Competition entry in the Architecture Competition ‘Conceptual architectural design of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Natural History Museum and park of Arts & culture with associated cultural facilities’
Organiser Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property Montenegro
Architectural Study Apostolopoulos Tasoulis + Baile Menduiña
Landscape Architect Tsirintani Eleni
Structural engineering Liontos and associates
Sustainability consultants Atelier Franck Boutté
Quantity surveyor Kosti Dimitra
Images Zumo + Apostolopoulos Tasoulis + Baile Menduiña
Area 27,394 m2
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