Creating a magnetic museum experience

Image: courtesy of LDA Design

LDA Design has recently reported on an international design competition run by Belgrade Waterfront and the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade:

'We have a lot to thank Nikola Tesla for. Alternating electric current turned out to be more efficient and also cheaper and easier to generate than direct current favoured by Thomas Edison. Still, Edison held the edge in the fame game until a certain electric car company came on the scene.

'But how could proposals for a new museum in Belgrade best pay tribute to the maverick visions and legacy of Serbian American Tesla? This was the challenge set in an anonymous international design competition run by Belgrade Waterfront and the Urban Planning Institute of Belgrade.

'A vision put forward by a project team including Howells Architects and LDA Design sought to create an exhilarating series of choreographed spaces that would appeal to visitors of all ages and celebrate the life of one of the 20th century’s most influential scientific figures.

'The site for the new museum is the pioneering Serbian factory built in the 1920s, the Milan Vapa Paper Mill. Decommissioned decades ago, and derelict for years, the aim is that the museum becomes an electric new destination. A new metro station will make it quick and easy to reach and the museum will be integrated with the city’s waterfront. 

The Howells/LDA team entry used light, sound and space – inside and out – to create an unforgettable and immersive experience, preserving the paper mill’s architectural and industrial heritage but also conjuring with materials and form for a contrasting futuristic feel.

'Key to the design are public spaces that are biodiverse, climate resilient, playful and welcoming – transforming a derelict site into a place to enjoy, with performance space that can be curated and where learning can be brought outdoors. Three open-sided, elevated, green-roofed and richly planted pavilions cosset and cool the main plaza, which includes bleacher seating and generous spill-out café space.

'Lighting – natural and electric – was another dynamic design feature. At night, the square would glow with ground lighting creating the impression of a magnetic field and leading the curious to the museum’s main entrance.

'Praising the overall quality of the entry, the judges commented that the design featured an exceptional landscape proposal with clearly defined elements, such as a Halo lighting installation to add drama. They also noted how the approach integrated the museum into the wider context of the city, to provide a lively new social centre.

This submission for the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia, was awarded third prize out of 46 entries.

Project team: Architect – HowellsLandscape architect – LDA DesignExhibition design – Nissen RichardsMEP + sustainability – Atelier TenStructural + civil engineering – Whitby Wood PopovicDevelopment consultant – Sillage