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- Follo Museum, Drøbak, Norway.
- Our entry proposal.
- About the competitionn: Museums in Akershus launched an international competition for a new workshop building at the Follo Museum in rural Norway. The competition sought proposals for a new building that can be used to teach and preserved traditional craft skills. The new workshop building will be an extension to the existing exhibition building and open-to-air living museum in Seiersten which features historic timber buildings from across the Follo region.. Concept description: The concept idea for a new workshop building is to create a space that can be adapted and transformed in many ways. To claim the status of a community traditional craft hub, the architecture of the building needs to be craftsmanship of outstanding quality. The design process of the proposed workshop building, with its seemingly complex interwoven functions, turned to be a relatively straightforward task. However, the main challenge was to find the best design solution for the arrival and the entrance area and a natural visitor path flow. The visitor wayfinding is a core issue for the museum to become a coherent and homogeneous exhibition zone. The main goal is to emphasise and simplify the existing north-south walking path, and place the key functions, various entrances and public spaces along that route. The task is to challenge, through the adaptive design, the existing landscape configuration and the location of the trees covered by the preservation order. As a result, the new workshop building was located along the west side of the designated area with the technical yard placed between the back of the building and the boundary site. With the assumption that the visitors will most likely arrive by bicycle, car or bus, the existing car park area is the undisputed arriving and starting point. The proposed entrance totem sign guides visitors from the car park onto the proposed visitor path, from which the entrance to the new visitor centre is visible. On its way, visitors can overview and experience through the glass facade the ongoing woodwork and blacksmith activities in the new workshop building. In the new visitor's lobby, guests can receive additional information about the ongoing exhibition and guided tours, as well as rest, refresh, buy a coffee or sandwich in the self-service cafe, before moving back on the exhibition journey. The lobby and its imminent external space will be a natural returning point and seen as a Follo Museum foyer-like space and the main public area. The west-facing enclosed courtyard and its steps will become an external area for resting and teaching for the workshop participants. The courtyard is designed as a timber suspended deck built around the existing protected oak trees. The lobby and the deck yard will provide a common space while separating the workshop building from the noisy blacksmith and woodworking activities and the quiet textile and classrooms areas. The blacksmith and woodwork zones have designated parts with fixed working stations and a common flexible working area. The fixed blacksmith area can be separated by metal wire curtains and the fixed woodworking machine area can be enclosed by dustproof and noise-reducing industrial PVC curtains. The remaining space can be used flexibly depending on the needs. The workbenches and materials can be swiftly moved around with the use of the overhead internal crane. The proposed new workshop has a simple cubical flat roof form similar to typical industrial architecture which complements the existing exhibition building. The entire building has been crafted using three durable and maintenance-free materials: CLT timber, galvanised steel and polished concrete. The proposed design has been developed to allow for extensive prefabrication of the building components and fast track on-site erection.The proposed design is foreseen to be constructed as a complete prefabrication kit based on flat two-dimensional structural and facade elements and three-dimensional pre-finished rooms. The prefabrication allows for factory quality control and can significantly reduce the overall cost. The building erection time and on-site activities will be significantly reduced minimising disturbance to the museum operation and the neighbours. The parts of the building have been carefully located taking into account the exiting landscape configuration to minimise the extent of the groundwork as well as to maintain a safe distance to the protected oak trees.
- Project : Follo Museum
- Location : Drøbak, NORWAY Date : January 2021 Status : Concept