UPSIDE DOWN
Honorable Prize
Reviving NPAK
Yerevan, Armenia
2019
Collaboration: Nader Moro, Mohamed Yasser
Reviving NPAK
Yerevan, Armenia
2019
Collaboration: Nader Moro, Mohamed Yasser
The design aspires to provide the city of Yerevan a new interactive environment that is accessible for the public and the art community within a contextual envelope, narrating a new chapter for the city without forgetting what have been before. The principal act that was done is creating two opposite layers of stepped terraces that provide a harmonic dialogue with the existing building, the first one is sloped downside creating a stepped plaza that leads to a cultural entrance at the existing basement level with a new glass façade that invites people in, and this will simplify connectivity and circulation through the building, while the existing stone façade will be floating above marking the historical layer of NPAK. The second one is sloped toward upside creating a stepped sculpture garden that provide a new sense of dynamic interaction between the city and the design community, leading to a communal terrace above the existing shorter side of the building that terrace will create a new public entry point to the project separating the cultural entrance from the public entrance. All the stepped terraces are connected visually and physically to Vernissage flea market that defines the most dominant contextual force around the site which will lead to more crowd flow inside the building and more communication and interaction between the different communities.
By reinforcing the existing structure, the design is aiming to keep the original layout and the visual identity of the building. The design Introduces three new floors inside the above triple height space providing more functions and spaces inside without adding additional volumes that could destroy the contextual image, as it also proposed to add a glass courtyard penetrating all the floors following the existing structure which will provide lighting and air ventilation inside the interior spaces without the need to add too many openings on the exterior skin. The big circular window on the back side of the project is proposed to be kept as an Icon for NPAK building modifying the slabs attached to it, to create an exhibitional triple height space facing the window.
The project program is divided into six floors each contains different functions and activities; the lower three floors are accessible directly from the cultural entrance below and this levels contains cultural, artistic and educational activities. While the upper three floor is accessible through the public entrance above and these ones contains working, residents, and communal activities. In the same time all the interior spaces inside the different levels are flexible and interconnected through a simple open plan that is human-oriented which could create open and freedom modern environment of sharing and interacting. It is also proposed to add a new theater below the upside landscape steps which will be accessible from the lower levels and will serve as a production platform for NPAK community.
