A look into the process of designing MYRA Museum — a new cultural point in an ancient town Suzdal
The art collection of MYRA creative community is the selection of remarkable pieces and hidden treasures of art history, which are intertwined with each other by visual rhymes and paradoxes. This elaborate set is soon to get its permanent home in ancient town Suzdal. Designed by our team, museum’s future building is in tune with its collection: it is an intriguing and dynamic space that invites the viewer to join the exciting rollercoaster of new discoveries.
We believe that any museum visit can lead to new discoveries and insights. The building of the MYRA Museum is located on the bank of the river. The location itself offers a breathtaking view of Suzdal, nevertheless, we wanted to reinforce it by planning the windows according to unusual and picturesque points.
Our aim was to give the visitors another experience creating a multi-dimensional adventure.
Being an architect in Suzdal is a great responsibility: this ancient town has a very distinctive image. Despite its organic consistency, Suzdal can be both austere and majestic or sincere and pedestrian. While designing the museum we were interested in exploring the edge between these two images. It is particularly obvious in the museum’s façade decoration. Slight interruption of rhythm and volume of masonry’s pattern channels the archeological treasures found in many layers of medieval architecture as well as our building’s own history.
Our museum in some way is a layered cake. The building consists of two blocks connected with a passage. We have decided to define the building’s many refurbishments and changes by turning the passageway into a see-through foyer. A picturesque view of the river can be observed from here — a perfect ‘filling’ between two ‘layers’. We wanted to create a seamless space, where art and nature align.
While working on exhibition spaces our aim is to highlight the exhibits. Sometimes the architecture has to step back from the light and let the art speak. This building has a lot of passageways, ladders and differently sized rooms. Such circumstances are the key to directing this space.
The exhibition has no divisions — it is an uninterrupted path through three floors, which fills the visitors with different emotions. Museum visit becomes a journey, both emotional and sensory. Classical checkered pattern of floor tiling supports this playful attitude.
Museums are more than art storages: they are becoming friendly spaces where visitors can come just to spend their free time. This feeling of openness is hard to reach with a sterile ‘white cube’ space. The space of MYRA Museum is cosy and welcoming because of details and textures. We have hidden some ‘Easter eggs’ in facades and interior decoration, alternating between changes of materials and rhythmic patterns. These charming curiosities make the building more open towards the visitors.
Some WIP from the building site of MYRA Museum. We have stripped the building, erected in the 2000s, of its many layers, revealing its initial shape. This will be the starting point of the future museum — a new landmark of Suzdal.
