| Title |
A Comparative Study of the Expantionist Architectural Concept in Post-Modern Museums |
| Abstract |
During the boom of museum building in the 1970s-80s two museum were erected in Germany. They are James Stirling`s Neue Stattsgalerie Stuttgart and Hans Hollein`s St dtisches Museum Abteiberg M nchengladbach. These two museums share the following point of similarity: Stirling`s Neue Stattsgalerie Stuttgart and Hollein`s St dtisches Museum Abteiberg M nchenbladbach both manifest the conditions of the times in light of their respective cities` local characters and historical contexts without being bound to traditional formality. Stirling and Hollein attempted to grasp the meaning of the “museum as a city in miniature.” Taking into account the two museums`s territorial characteristics of being situated on a slope, both Stirling and Hollein made the walker to pass through their building complex and introduced the concept of a public square within them. As a result, the museums are not just two large buildings but are architecture composed of a collage of various structures. Stirling`s architecture employs the method of attaching additional elements on top of basic constituents, which is suggestive of the historical fragment from Shinkel`s Altes Museum. On the other hand, Hollein applies a collage-style method as if he were doing urban planning, maintaining the distinctiveness of each of the various forms and materials of buildings. The object-style buildings of the two museums actively demonstrate the contrast of double meaning to represent the ambiguous and multifarious characteristics of the modern times. Stirling explores the theme of opposition and coexistence in his Neue Stattsgalerie Stuttgart by placing a series of opposing concepts, such as the past and present and history and technology, in one space. Thereby, the contradiction and its appeal are manifested. Hollein made use of the visual illusion and contradiction in alluding to the irony of the modern reality induced by nature and culture and history and technology. For the above reasons and methods, James Stirling`s Neue Stattsgalerie Stuttgart allowed the penetration of art into daily life and became the general public`s favored museum for its free and unrestrained environment. Likewise, Hans Hollein`s St dtisches Museum Abteiberg M nchengladbach contribute to the development of museum function as it an expression of art in the form of a complex piece of scupture on its own. |