THE ECHO OF A HALLWAY
This pavilion project is an initiative by Museo Experimental El Eco, aimed at fostering dialogue with architecture within the museum's program, for which five young architecture studios were invited to participate.
The Echo of a Hallway by Estudio Mendiola Arregui
Ordinary architecture can define spaces that awaken deep emotions. According to Mathias Goeritz, the museum's access hallway is pure emotional expression.
Our proposal is to replicate the walls that make up the entrance corridor in the museum's courtyard, segmenting it and creating a new space. Although the geometry of the floorplan remains the same, the experience of this new hallway is completely different.
The hallway that leads to the new patio frames an intimate trajectory, inviting visitors to leave the bustle of the everyday behind and become submerged by a personal, cloistered experience. The hallway's extension, seen from its beginning, generates a sensation of anticipation and discovery. As one advances, it becomes more narrow and secluded. At its end, a door leads to a private oasis, apart from the rest of the museum.
The two patios that result from this intervention can host a wide array of
activities that range from contemplation to others that bring together groups. The project also highlights the importance of the museum's totem, as it retraces the geometry of its plan to create a bench. This object calls attention to its proportions and position within the building's original design.
Architecture can be transformed into a work that awakens feelings and emotions among those who experience it. Here is where what is intimate and private can become public and collective.
The choice of an earthy tone for the walls seeks to blend them with the floor and allow the intervention to subtly integrate into the environment, creating a neutral backdrop that contrasts with colors to accentuate the most important element of the courtyard: the tower, while also highlighting the beauty of the trees.
The corridor envelops and isolates you from the surroundings, while the tower and trees reveal themselves above, as if peeking curiously into the corridor. The opening that awaits you at the end corresponds to the entrance behind the tower.
The bench faithfully replicates the shape and footprint of the tower, and its yellow color emphasizes the connection between the two, allowing the user to appreciate the scale and geometry of the sculpture intuitively.
Just as the tower is the main actor in the courtyard, the bench also becomes the protagonist of this new space and opens up to multiple uses, such as a contemplative space sheltered by trees or a venue for talks and conferences.
