Designed in collaboration with Studio Madouh.

The LIMA ART MUSEUM NEW CONTEMPORARY ART WING proposal exists in the same vein and productive dilemma as MALI itself. How does the institution, urban environment and architecture respect and respond to the historical precedent, while looking to the future and competing on a contemporary world stage? The entry aims to turn MALI on itself, lifting historical precedent above ground, and modernity dipping below.

The concept of the NEW CONTEMPORARY ART WING looks past simply performing as a museum. The architecture performs as a platform for learning and a forum for public engagement. The massing rises out of the earth, comprised of stepping natural stone block to provoke a conversation to pre-Columbian architecture as an open air public space. The steps gradually increase at a gentle slope to respect and reveal the existing Exposition Palace building, while creating an elevated accessible roof landscape. Approaching the site from the bustling Av. 9 De Diciembre (Paseo Colon) and A. Garcilaso De la Vega intersection, the streetscape and pubic visitor are pulled below ground, descending under the weight of the of the solid roofscape, history and energy of the city above. Inhabitants arrive in a year round sunken public space surrounded by the lush vertical greenery, piercing natural light and a feeling of modernity. The public can enjoy the cafe, circulate to the classrooms or past ticketing into the tiered sequence of galleries. A secondary museum entrance allows for direct access to the Exposition Park and the existing MALI galleries.

The key objective of the proposal is to approach the MALI NEW CONTEMPORARY ART WING as a fresh public forum and destination for tourists, students, museum goers and local Li-mans alike. Regardless of the visitor, the museum will create an overlap of circulation and a unique conversation between programs to foster and develop new futures for the museum. The historical bold solid exterior façade, and a lively active modern interior, aims to utilize the architecture to exemplify the core values of MALI itself. The ambition is to cultivate an architectural environment to nurture contemporary art and an optimistic vision of the future, while reinvigorating a deep cultural history and value of the past.

Design Assistants: Daniel Hsu and Ray Liu