Tower-Museum NY

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Tower-Museum NY

Firm

Type

Cultural › Museum
Educational › Library
Government + Health ›

SIZE

500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft

BUDGET

$10M - 50M

THE STARTING point for the concept of creating a new immigration museum was based on fundamental human emotions, i.e. the feelings an immigrant experiences when he arrives in a foreign country.
Contrasting emotions, which can be negative and positive at the same time, induce similar behavior in the face of change that is shared by all immigrants.
The feeling of being completely lost, the change in surroundings, adaptation, isolation, integration, growing linguistic and cultural understanding, the euphoria of starting life anew and the discovery of the ?New World? were the basis for the architectural development of the museum.
Based on these notions, the first aim was to banish the monotony that is very typical of towers. We therefore created for the visitor a feeling of disorientation, a change of scenery, and also a lack of guidance in finding their way from one storey (or program) to another.
The desire to provoke an emotion, a change of state, the stimulation of interest, the slow and often complicated understanding of the space and surrounding environment were the first steps in the creation of this symbolic place in New York.
Another important element is the migratory flow, the mix of different populations and cultures leading to the one great body of people.
A variety of apertures and walls allow the visitor to have an unexpected and amazing 360 view of the urban and aquatic surroundings, to alternate between the open (terraces), half-open and enclosed spaces that form the structure and shape of the building.
An ecological tower- an energy self-sufficient building
The shape of the tower is not only generated by the symbolic thoughts of every immigrant, but is also linked to a sustainable ecological system, energy efficiency and a harmonious relationship with the urban environment.
The building has an aerodynamic & asymmetric body, supported by 4 huge structures rising from the water; creating an open-air public space and an axis between Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty.
After considering the sunshine, wind and climate patterns, we created a structure with apertures facing south, in order to maximize ventilation and the amount of sunlight entering the building.
The structural frame becomes directional supports for the installation of the hexagonal photovoltaic cells and for 57 small wind turbines positioned around the building.
The south-facing windows are covered by semi-transparent photovoltaic cells, acting as protective screens and generating energy.