Painting Museum
Design Team
David Lee
Location
Providence, RI
Year
2023 Fall
Materials used
Museum board, Chip board
Design Intention
Recording the interplay of light and shadow reactions on each abstract thumbnail model unveils distinctive shadow characteristics, enabling the discernment of potential architectural volumes, spatial relationships, and structural expressions essential to the painting museum.
INSPIRATION CONNECTION CREATION
The sun is not a guest here; it is the first collaborator.
My duty is to listen to its path, its angles, its silence, and to fold the building around it, letting light and shadow become the primary exhibitors. Walls, roofs, and floors are shaped first to serve daylight, then to serve art.
Controlled apertures, reflective planes, and deliberate absences of light turn every hour into a new curation.
The architecture does not merely house paintings;
It paints with time.
Recording the cast shadows' evolution in time, shape, and size provides a dynamic framework, enabling the architect's mind to conceptualize and formulate structure.
THUMBNAIL MODEL
Thumbnail models translate abstract ideas into tangible three-dimensional forms.
As shown below, these compact physical studies serve as foundational cornerstones, guiding the expansion and development of the project's design.
THUMBNAIL SKETCH
Thumbnail sketches evolve through constant iteration, deriving initial ideas from the distinctive characteristics of the physical thumbnail models. Each cycle refines architectural features, allowing form, structure, and spatial concepts to gradually develop and mature.
THUMBNAIL ITERATION
As 2D thumbnail sketches are iteratively translated into larger-scale 3D models, new moments of interaction between the model and light emerge. By recording these light reactions, structural features are carefully planned, refined, and resolved throughout the design process.
ITERATION INTO LANDSCAPE
Building on the design principles established in prior thumbnail model iterations, the process shifts to exploring the dialogue between structure and surrounding landscape. This continued investigation of light, form, and site reveals exciting new discoveries and possibilities.
Elevations and roofing are carefully adapted to allow controlled light leakage, creating a warm and inviting ambience. This diffused light reaches ceilings, walls, and floors, softly illuminating the interior spaces.
By sculpting the landscape to echo and extend the roof's sloping geometry into the ground, the design achieves seamless spatial continuity throughout the museum.
PAINTING THE INTERIOR
Natural sunlight, observed at varying times and angles, guides the design—revealing how its form and intensity 'paints' the interior spaces with dynamic light and shadow.
