THE CATHEDRAL OF THE SHOEMAKER IN EXILE

by Alexandru Oltean

The project is presented through a series of complex spatial configurations that draw from ecclesiastic principals in response to the site and to the Natural History Museum’s title, ‘Cathedral of Nature’. The technique of montage is used to bring together fragments and construction methods from known architectural arrangements like the tabernacle and Romanesque church in order to create a contemporary urban pleasure garden, where the union between program and form is forced and chaotic. A constant state of duality is apparent throughout the project to create a modern interpretation of the two sides of scientific endeavour. These arguments consist of the secular commitment to evidence and reality, and the metaphysical principles of the momentary unknown. The two auditoriums, one located within the tabernacle and the other inside the underground
depository further presents the duality of learning, one from listening to others, and the other through observation.