Intersections

“Intersections” is a celebration of volcanoes through Mount Ararat as a cultural monument. The project draws upon Noah’s Ark – an integral part of Mount Ararat’s cultural significance as an inspiration. The narrative of Noah’s Ark follows the destruction and hell wrought onto the world through flooding through water by divine punishment – in which Noah for his virtue is rescued through the ark. He then witnesses the warmth and the light of the sky – the source of assurance and signs given to Noah by God for the promises and hope for him and his posterity. However, God promises to return by destroying the world with fire as the Earth will eventually witness all His glory.

Water here is viewed as a symbol of hell and chaos – similar to the properties magma displays when a volcano erupts. The sky and fire are symbols of heaven and order, which are evident when volcanoes are in a dormant state – where there is peace and calm but speak of the return of the divine. The ark itself lies at the intersection between heaven and hell – as the Earth itself. The characteristics of hell and heaven mix to display the properties and the materials of volcanoes through Noah’s ark. Our building is that very Noah’s Ark and its relation to the site is a representation of the relationship between heaven, hell, and the Earth – elements that build upon this narrative.

Our building has 2 main entrances, albeit at different heights. The entrance spaces are orderly and display functionality like most museums. Warm natural lights break through a glass ceiling that provides warmth to a naturally cold site. Exposure to the sun is a vital part that provides natural warmth – signs that the divine has a direct impact on the spaces indicating a promise of hope and remembrance of the things that shape our Earth regardless of entrance or exit. Visitors will realize that while “heaven” is serene in its state, it is uneventful for the individual who has yet to experience its opposite – hell. The gift shop and the café mean nothing to the visitor if he does not understand the elements that fuel their cultural significance. Hence, the visitor is edged on by the increasingly unbearable heat of the environment and is prompted to ironically seek refuge in the successive path to follow – hell.

As the visitor walks through the building leading to the central exhibition space, the paths become increasingly chaotic and erratic, breaking away from the usual monotony of spaces – introducing the element of hell and its elements to the person walking through it. Hell is a chaotic realm and those swept in it are subject to its torments and trials. Unlike Dante’s Inferno where the lowest levels of hell are frozen concentric rings – symbols of eternal damnation, our interpretation sees that the passage through is merely a transitory and temporary event. Hence the spaces promote constant circulation with water running alongside it, prompting visitors to move along.

Office buildings outline the erratic paths ensuring the museum’s functions are continuously running. Natural light similarly penetrates through the spaces, reflecting the status of those who run this ecosystem to be agents of the divine. To upkeep the environment and experience of the visitors, the staff running the museum are therefore elevated to the position of “God’s angels” – where they do not interfere with the overall experience created by the spaces but simply guide the visitors to their supposed destination. In this process, they are simply vessels that channel “God’s glory” through the experience of heaven, hell, and the meeting in the middle. Therefore, they must be granted ordered spaces for them to carry out their work and contribute to the transformational experience of the visitor.

Finally, visitors reach the central exhibition space where they are shown the full scale of how volcanoes form and their history. One walks through the spaces to witness lava simulations flow and build holographic projections of heating and cooling of lava as they form the rocks that constitute mountains such as the site – Mount Ararat. The central exhibition space embodies everything that represents the tectonic phenomena of volcanoes. Visitors watch as heaven and hell collide, manifesting the beautiful product as the earth – known as the volcanoes we see.