KRISTIN JONES / ANDREW GINZEL
PROPOSAL FOR THE NEW COLUMBUS AVENUE COMMUNITY ENTRANCE PLAZA 1998
American Museum of Natural History, New York City.
Proposal for the new Columbus Avenue Community Entrance Plaza.
Polsheck and Partners, Architects
(Proposal Model)
Elements: Multiple elements include: domed plaza, forest of tapers, primordial pool, halo portal, etc.
A. THE DISC OF RELATIVITY
A very slowly revolving circular surface which can be walked on. The Disc will constantly shift the visitor relative to their environment as a metaphor for the inability to “know” the world and evoke the spirit of inquiry which the Museum represents. The Disc is gently domed and is 20 feet in diameter. The disc will revolve at a speed of about one revolution every 10 to 15 minutes. This rotation will be adjustable. The surface will be red brick, identical to the paving brick in the plaza.
B. THE CORE TAPER A gilt taper at the center of The Disc Of Relativity. When a visitor is upon the Disc the Core Taper serves as the common denominator, an essential point of triangulation between the visitor and their relative position in the world. It is the height of the Pavilion.
C. THE ENIGMA A mysterious object, perhaps discovered, yet to be identified and classified, on The Disc of Relativity next to The Core Taper. In the form of a sphere representing totality, it is nonetheless wrapped providing a sense of both its potential and our very inability to know all. It is cast bronze and 24 inches in diameter, attached to the surface of The Disc of Relativity.
D. THE TAPERS A series of spires that inhabit the Plaza area creating a sense that the built human environment of the Plaza is not immune to the regenerative potential of the enigmatic force of nature. The Tapers, in their semblance to large blades of grass or bamboo, create a dynamic of shift of scale, which act as a measure to orient and align the visitor in the plaza area, especially relative to the Disc of Relativity. They vary in height from seven to forty-two feet. The tapers will be of fiberglass and/pr aluminum and will have blunted tips.
Project Description:
We seek to create a new work that embraces the entrance plaza, forming a crucial pivot point both conceptually and physically for the museum visitor. The work is composed of six elements which together provide a forum for contemplative inquiry, wonder and mystery about how each visitor is both a integral part and arbitrator of the natural world around them. We seek to celebrate the fundamental equation in this, 'our' world: the living relationship between the individual and the environment. So as to have any perspective we can understand, it is essential, in a very basic way, to reckon with our own animate place in the Universe. Knowledge is very much alive, as is the Museum not a fixed place. The elements metaphorically relate to how the museum parallels knowledge, each in their own way and together reveal an aspect of relativity of mystery, of discovery curiosity and ultimately of Infinity.
American Museum of Natural History Proposal for the new Columbus Avenue Community Entrance Plaza Page 2
Our primary concerns are:
• We are above all interested in the concept of infinity.... in the infinity of the unknown and in the infinity within what is known, within what is considered to be our legacy of tangible knowledge.
• We are interested in the fact that the Museum is a center for extraordinary research, and that the parts of the Museum that are designated display areas are but the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
• The engine that drives the Museum, that drives human beings is curiosity, the quest of knowledge, the discovery of, the unraveling of infinities of mystery waiting to be explained, deciphered, through rigorous painstaking probing research.
• It is the unsettling knowledge of how little is known in relation to the scale of the infinity of mystery that is so compelling, so powerful.
• The premise of our thinking is overall and relates to the Museum as an entirety.
• We feel that the work be accessible on many levels and respect the Museum as a whole, not only in relation to the Planetarium.
• We feel that any work ought to celebrate and to question, the very notion of a Museum of Natural History.
• In particular we feel that any artwork must be fully integrated into the architectural site and concept of the museum.
• We feel strongly that the work address the overall visual ambiance of the entrance plaza and thus must address the problem of the disconcerting disparate and disjunctive surrounding architecture which needs to be focused- shielded, and made into a place in and of itself.
• Knowing that the Museum in essence represents the Human Perspective of the Universe. We are interested in the relationship of the individual human being to the Universe as represented by the totality of the Museum.
• It is important that the work speak to the larger question of how human beings interpret and experience the Universe.
• How do Human Beings understand their place within Nature?
• We believe that this new entrance way to the museum should offer the visitor a visceral experience, an experience, fundamental to what the Museum is about. An experience that touches upon the question; the apparent dichotomy between human history and natural history, human beings and their environment.
KRISTIN JONES / ANDREW GINZEL
PROPOSAL FOR THE NEW COLUMBUS AVENUE COMMUNITY ENTRANCE PLAZA 1998
American Museum of Natural History, New York City.
Proposal for the new Columbus Avenue Community Entrance Plaza.
Polsheck and Partners, Architects
(Proposal Model)
Elements: Multiple elements include: domed plaza, forest of tapers, primordial pool, halo portal, etc.
A. THE DISC OF RELATIVITY
A very slowly revolving circular surface which can be walked on. The Disc will constantly shift the visitor relative to their environment as a metaphor for the inability to “know” the world and evoke the spirit of inquiry which the Museum represents. The Disc is gently domed and is 20 feet in diameter. The disc will revolve at a speed of about one revolution every 10 to 15 minutes. This rotation will be adjustable. The surface will be red brick, identical to the paving brick in the plaza.
B. THE CORE TAPER A gilt taper at the center of The Disc Of Relativity. When a visitor is upon the Disc the Core Taper serves as the common denominator, an essential point of triangulation between the visitor and their relative position in the world. It is the height of the Pavilion.
C. THE ENIGMA A mysterious object, perhaps discovered, yet to be identified and classified, on The Disc of Relativity next to The Core Taper. In the form of a sphere representing totality, it is nonetheless wrapped providing a sense of both its potential and our very inability to know all. It is cast bronze and 24 inches in diameter, attached to the surface of The Disc of Relativity.
D. THE TAPERS A series of spires that inhabit the Plaza area creating a sense that the built human environment of the Plaza is not immune to the regenerative potential of the enigmatic force of nature. The Tapers, in their semblance to large blades of grass or bamboo, create a dynamic of shift of scale, which act as a measure to orient and align the visitor in the plaza area, especially relative to the Disc of Relativity. They vary in height from seven to forty-two feet. The tapers will be of fiberglass and/pr aluminum and will have blunted tips.
Project Description:
We seek to create a new work that embraces the entrance plaza, forming a crucial pivot point both conceptually and physically for the museum visitor. The work is composed of six elements which together provide a forum for contemplative inquiry, wonder and mystery about how each visitor is both a integral part and arbitrator of the natural world around them. We seek to celebrate the fundamental equation in this, 'our' world: the living relationship between the individual and the environment. So as to have any perspective we can understand, it is essential, in a very basic way, to reckon with our own animate place in the Universe. Knowledge is very much alive, as is the Museum not a fixed place. The elements metaphorically relate to how the museum parallels knowledge, each in their own way and together reveal an aspect of relativity of mystery, of discovery curiosity and ultimately of Infinity.
American Museum of Natural History Proposal for the new Columbus Avenue Community Entrance Plaza Page 2
Our primary concerns are:
• We are above all interested in the concept of infinity.... in the infinity of the unknown and in the infinity within what is known, within what is considered to be our legacy of tangible knowledge.
• We are interested in the fact that the Museum is a center for extraordinary research, and that the parts of the Museum that are designated display areas are but the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
• The engine that drives the Museum, that drives human beings is curiosity, the quest of knowledge, the discovery of, the unraveling of infinities of mystery waiting to be explained, deciphered, through rigorous painstaking probing research.
• It is the unsettling knowledge of how little is known in relation to the scale of the infinity of mystery that is so compelling, so powerful.
• The premise of our thinking is overall and relates to the Museum as an entirety.
• We feel that the work be accessible on many levels and respect the Museum as a whole, not only in relation to the Planetarium.
• We feel that any work ought to celebrate and to question, the very notion of a Museum of Natural History.
• In particular we feel that any artwork must be fully integrated into the architectural site and concept of the museum.
• We feel strongly that the work address the overall visual ambiance of the entrance plaza and thus must address the problem of the disconcerting disparate and disjunctive surrounding architecture which needs to be focused- shielded, and made into a place in and of itself.
• Knowing that the Museum in essence represents the Human Perspective of the Universe. We are interested in the relationship of the individual human being to the Universe as represented by the totality of the Museum.
• It is important that the work speak to the larger question of how human beings interpret and experience the Universe.
• How do Human Beings understand their place within Nature?
• We believe that this new entrance way to the museum should offer the visitor a visceral experience, an experience, fundamental to what the Museum is about. An experience that touches upon the question; the apparent dichotomy between human history and natural history, human beings and their environment.