The simultaneous museum : a transformation of the exclusive type into a coexistent urban form

Abstract

The desire to understand art in a context outside of the interpretive control of the museum environment is implicit in much of the work of contemporary artists. The city offers an alternative environment in which art can be understood as a part of a larger social order and the vitality of our everyday lives. To think of the city as a museum context requires first an understanding of the city as a weaving of systems (of movement, of use, of information, etc.); and then an understanding of the city in terms of the range of experiential encounters it offers, i.e. green spaces, public plazas. narrow allies, waterfront edges, heavily inhabited districts, privacies, passageways, and so on. With an understanding of this framework, one can conceive of overlaying yet another layer of encounter which exists in simuItaneaity with the existing urban order, while at times clarifying it or offering alternative interpretations to how the city can be understood. This work will attempt to establish some criteria for such an institution, then use those criteria in the development of the design proposition.