POLYCARB HOUSE °*
TEETER DOCK °*
LENTICULAR COLUMN °*
CLOSED LOOP °*
HYPAR CANOPY °
SHARED BEDS °*
MATERIAL MUSEUM °
SPLIT HOUSE °
DRAPED STONE °*
FLAT STAND °
TIP TAP °
ROCKER °
ARCADE °
TAUT °*
VEER °*
SLING °
ENFOLD °
THREE LEVEL HOUSE °
CHI-OSK °
FIBROUS TECTONICS °
ACTIVE COMPOSITES °
PETRO HOUSE °
DATE 2020
LOCATION Boston, MA
TYPEMuseum & Cultural
COMPETITION Winner
DESIGN LEAD
David Costanza
OVERVIEWThe design approach for the Material Museum was to treat the building as both a gallery and a display. The initial ambition was to use the building itself to communicate the materials and histories of the discipline of architecture. In doing so, the building becomes an instrument for learning. In response to the four types of gallery spaces required, the building stacks both material and spatial typologies vertically. The large full-scale galleries are housed at the top of the building using steel and channel glass on the fourth floor, followed by precast concrete on the third floor, creating considerable ceiling heights and massive spans. The second floor is made of mass timber, further reducing the members' spacing while increasing their size. The reduced span and ceiling height accommodate scaled models in a more intimate gallery space. On the ground floor, the shift from timber to stone further reduces the column spacing, creating a nested urban landscape that steps down to make the entrance plaza and museum shop. The digital media gallery is located just below the urban gallery. Finally, the primary auditorium is positioned to negotiate the lowest two floors.