To tell a tragedy -- the design perspective The purpose of the Holocaust museum is - to tell a tale. The task becomes so hard because the designer try to put a narrative structure both in its content and the outside shell. Architecture composition has to tell a story of tragedy. Space as Narrative The story begins at fourth floor. The exhibition introduces the visitor as a protagonist. As entering the museum, you were given a passport with the name, picture and story of a real holocaust victim. Along the way, we will see remnants like shoes and suitcase and wedding rings. The exhibition is presented in a chronological progression. The tower of face is the most interesting space in the exhibition. It shows a good example combination of architecture design and exhibition design for telling a story. The permanent exhibit is designed to culminate in the Hall of remembrance; a peaceful and quiet and space conducive to meditation. Architecture of Simulacrum Brick wall and exposed beams let visitors know that they are in a different place. Above and around are moving walkways, give us the sense of being watched by strangers. There is a skylight that has been twisted and distorted. The walls are punctuated with planes of glass that is carved by the names who were murdered by Nazis. The holocaust shows us a literal design, recapturing the image of Nazi combines the exhibition design and the architecture space. The action of architecture is an action of Simulacrum. This idea is showed in both exhibition design and architecture design. Narrative collection VS Narrative structure Museum always has an education purpose. There is always a story to tell. The design of Holocaust museum shows us another possibility to use architecture as a narrative medium not only a place for collection. As a student in ETC, we should think more about how we can do the narrative space in the game design or theater design. Without physical limitation, we should be able to do more interesting things in both these field.
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