In contemporary cities, museums have long since ceased to be simply places for storing exhibits, school trips and the “cultural leisure” of adults on their days off.
They are becoming full-fledged contributors to enhancing the quality of urban life, able to compete on equal terms with parks, cinemas and restaurants.
A premier example of this trend can be found at the new Museum Park in downtown Moscow, Russia.
This new, green pedestrian zone and public space is drawing larger numbers of city dwellers into the Polytechnic Museum, while simultaneously helping to revitalize the neighborhood.
Here’s what local architects at Wowhaus said about their project:
Following the concept by Jun’ya Ishigami, the territory around the Polytechnic Museum was to be transformed into a Museum Park.
It’s a thoroughly designed public space, whose structure takes into account the needs of the Museum and its visitors, as well as intensive transport and pedestrian flows, and the requirements of the city authorities concerning streets and town squares.
A park-amphitheatre in front of the Museum – an open-air foyer that will become an extension of the spaces inside the building and will act as a prologue, while the inner space is under construction.
It will be able to host events while uniting the new pedestrian zone in the building’s lower ground level with the outdoor area alongside Lubyanka Square, attracting pedestrians and providing them with a convenient and pleasant route into the Museum complex.
All photographs courtesy of Daniil Annenkov.