Master class in design intentions 1
The National Museum of the American Indian
As a designer, my favorite sport is to try to imagine what the plan view of a landscape may look like in 2D, and see how it may correlate with the in situ experience.
The exterior design of the National Museum of the American Indian was predominantly underpinned by a circular theme. Using a strong geometry as such a circle truly helps to convey a sense of simplicity at a first glance. Yet there’s so much more than what meets the eye beyond that immediate first impression.
The incredible skills of the designer become most apparent in the change of levels in the grounds of this museum. It is through the variation of depths that a balance of mass and void was formed. Playing with the perception of “Mass and void” is another trick we love to use as landscape designers.
I dare say it is the “void” part of the balance that steals the show here. I could stare at the circular abyss of the fountain in a trance - it is, as though, inviting the viewers to ponder life’s hard questions - things and people we have loved and lost …
But regardless of one’s emotional state, the circular curves act function much like a hug from invisible arms for those who choose to sit in the garden, listening to the sound of the moving water. The sinuous curves would occasionally get interrupted by large boulders to form a powerful tension. The curves are like a river bypassing these interruptions with determination and tenacity.
If you have the chance to visit this museum one day, may you take the time to be immersed in that sight and sound, and be embraced by those delicious curves of the circular geometry.
