Prince of Wales Visitors Centre by RMA Architects
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- r) q7 _. u5 hPhotographer Edmund Sumner has sent us these images of a shimmering steel visitors centre at a Mumbai museum.
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[/url][url=http://www.rmaarchitects.com/]
% N' b l/ S6 N. N: Q6 a7 VRMA Architects designed the elliptical building at the entrance to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum), where historical Indian artefacts and artworks are exhibited.
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Thin steel columns support a curving roof that overhangs the exterior walls of the centre to shelter a surrounding terrace.
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9 x& k0 X% E9 x, SExisting trees grow through holes in this roof, which also shelters a separate circular baggage kiosk. o" X; P- z2 p* w! d3 ]) w/ M
2 M' p. Q9 A) {) b9 k0 O$ e. LThe remaining portion of the visitors centre contains a 200-seat auditorium, a ticket-office, a shop, a cafe and toilets.% p5 S- D6 F* z/ H
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Edmund Sumner has photographed a number of buildings in Mumbai – see our earlier stories about a corporate office block beside a slum and a wood-clad temple.
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2 k9 E7 f0 C0 I7 X- d @" ~The following text is from RMA Architects:
* Z4 [2 V* K, X, t! ^" ?/ E( {; p& z" pA visitor’s center located at the entrance of the Prince of Wales Museum, a Grade I heritage structure in Mumbai.
) u U" j- |+ a$ BThe contemporary structure expands upon the footprint of a previously existing multipurpose hall, and is a part of an expansion plan for this prestigious urban landmark.
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5 @6 k! T! @/ s ~# G: cThe center fulfills various programmatic functions, ranging from the integration of baggage collection and storage, to ticketing and security, as well as a museum shop, two hundred seat auditorium, and rest rooms.
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7 x" |8 e$ o/ |5 d+ U, ]A lightweight, stainless steel clad elliptical roof creates a covered verandah for circulation, integrating disparate visitor programs into a consolidated and modest, yet contemporary form.
# Z& { q! p# I$ I. h2 n" fGlass and metal surfaces exist as a visual counterpoint to stout basalt stone of local heritage structures. Reflective material planes create a paradoxical visual poetry in which archaic forms of the adjacent museum are recast and distorted in a new perspective.' Z. u" r* t; G; G2 [
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The pre-defined footprint is organically punctured by existing trees that project through openings in the roof, yielding localized deviations in the otherwise low-key scale spaces.
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. R3 [% @) Z/ y/ C0 ?' YIntegration of natural textures with modern means and materials further expands the defining narrative of the center, that of a culturally meaningful intervention within a monumental historic context.
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金属的外壳!怕不怕吸热!{:soso_e122:}