Rutledge Maul Architects, P.S. Inc.

CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum

CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora

CSMVS - VISITOR CENTRE AT THE PRINCE OF WALES MUSEUM

Rma Architects

ARCHITECTS
Rma Architects

CATEGORY
Visitor Center

LOCATION
Mumbai, India

YEAR
2011

PHOTOGRAPHS
Rajesh Vora, Edmund Sumner

Text description provided by architect.

A Visitor Centre located at the entrance of the Prince of Wales Museum, a Grade I heritage structure in Mumbai.

CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora

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.

The centre 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.

CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Edmund Sumner
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora

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.

Glass and metal surfaces exist as a visual counterpoint to stout basalt stone of local heritage structures.

CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora

Reflective material planes create a paradoxical visual poetry in which archaic forms of the adjacent museum are recast and distorted in a new perspective.

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.

CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora

Integration of natural textures with modern means and materials further expands the defining narrative of the centre, that of a culturally meaningful intervention within a monumental historic context.


CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Edmund Sumner
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Edmund Sumner
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
© Rajesh Vora


CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
Elevation


CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
Floor Plan
CSMVS – Visitor Centre at the Prince of Wales Museum
Details

Rutledge Maul Architects, P.S. Inc.
T +1 206 4400330
Rutledge Maul Architects, P.S. Inc.
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