Prince of Wales Visitors Centre by RMA Architects
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* z0 b) C i" ^1 j& d' y. lPhotographer Edmund Sumner has sent us these images of a shimmering steel visitors centre at a Mumbai museum.3 G9 C8 ]5 I* v* V
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RMA 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.( y, H$ e! \4 R# M* n7 W; i
t4 Z6 a: o# A2 b3 p, P* B; U0 yExisting trees grow through holes in this roof, which also shelters a separate circular baggage kiosk.
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The remaining portion of the visitors centre contains a 200-seat auditorium, a ticket-office, a shop, a cafe and toilets.
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7 d1 H& X' _6 |4 o5 v' ]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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$ {- J7 k0 B% x+ J( S- L( \The following text is from RMA Architects:7 t6 V* P8 ]( ~, `
A visitor’s center located at the entrance of the Prince of Wales Museum, a Grade I heritage structure in Mumbai.9 Q! q! ^7 _. r' O
The 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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The 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.4 R- i4 N6 D/ @) a- v
6 y1 G' F3 U+ ~! P' [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." v# T i2 J8 M; g O) }
Glass 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. t, X. Y0 |; q
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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. Q4 F3 m) n8 h u
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Integration 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:}