The goal of the competition was fulfilling the demands which in
the last big restoration of the Museum were not or just a little taken into
account. These – beyond the remaining restoration of the garden – can be
categorized into two groups. One is the so called public friendly functions
group which serves the comfort of the visitors; the other applies to the
changing rate of the regular and temporary exhibitions. The main parts of the
restoration were the following:
- The utilization
of the northern and southern inner courtyards: In the covered courtyard
according to the facade we placed capsules freely which barely reduce the
lighting of the corridors around the courtyards. The capsules hosting various exhibitions or performances are
attached to the first and second floor levels so the visitors get through the
main entrance and lobby of the original building to the first floor and through
the main staircase and dome hall to the second floor and receive the building’s
Pollack composition‘s main sights.
- The
architectural analysis of the Museum’s existing main entrance searching for
possible alternative entrances: In our opinion in the aspect of the National
Museum’s architectural composition the space line from the entrance to the
exhibitions is dominant. For keeping this experience we labeled the building’s
existing northern and southern doorways only as alternative periodically opened
entrances. Our intention was to create a new lateral axis periodically working
together with the garden.
- Creating new pedestrian
traffic spaces under and above the surface, redesigning the old ones,
furthermore functional reconstruction of the inner spaces: We provided the
Museum and its environment with new functions appropriate to the standards of
the XXI century. In the northern courtyard and capsule: coffee shop, museum
shop, and temporary exhibition hall was placed, in the southern courtyard and
capsule childcare room and multifunctional conference room was placed. Under
the newly created main staircase the restaurant and the 250 portion kitchen
form both courtyards as well as from the museum garden are easily accessible.
- The expansion
of the building’s services-logistics functions and the placing of the cars
which prevent the using of the garden: Our proposal is a two floor system with
two dominant functions (transitive warehouse and parking) for the smallest
possible area which place is designed on the Pollack Mihály place side of the
building.
- The arrangement and redesign of the museum garden: The
museum garden in our interpretation should create a transitional space between
the city and the museum. With the proper opening and closing of the garden or
the building entrances the garden can be made a part of the city or the
institute depending on the demand between the public park and public garden
functions. We provide the developing transitional space with functions that
satisfy both operating modes meanwhile respecting the historical legacy.