Three internationally acclaimed architects from different cultural backgrounds placed their talents at the service of a new exhibition organized around three different themes: Defending Human Dignity (Gringo Cardia, Brazil), Restoring Family Links (Diébédo Francis Kéré, Burkina Faso), Reducing Natural Risks (Shigeru Ban, Japan). They were overseen by Atelier Oï (Switzerland).
The design for the new permanent exhibit includes an introductory zone and three thematic areas, entitled: "Defending human dignity", "Reconstructing the family link" and "Refusing fatality".
Reopening on 18 May 2013
Throughout the past, mankind has always been willing to return to its roots and remain close to nature. That is still the case today. This reconciliation with the environment allows human beings to look forward and move towards a sustainable future. The exhibition accordingly aims to reveal the various aspects of this topic by involving the visitor on different sensory levels. Francis Kéré
The dark entrance passage, bounded by hemp concrete walls, encourages the visitor to consider the frightened and suffocating emotions of family tragedy during conflict. Central to this part of the exhibition is a tower, also with hemp concrete walls, which is an architectural reference to a traditional hut for a nuclear family. It lets in very little light and has a Corten steel floor with a rusty appearance. This space is a memorial to tragedies such as the Srebrenica genocide.
The “Tree of Messages”, with its metal branches, is a reminder of the cold contrast between nature and war. The connection between nature and the family is an important sub-theme in Kéré’s part of the exhibition.
The “Room of Witnesses” is a direct contrast to the tower as here the focus is on transparency and hope rather than darkness and despair. This space emphasizes the important role eyewitness testimony plays in humanitarian action. The use of simple materials here is to emphasise the fundamental connection between the family, roots and nature, and thus the great importance of the difficult search for the missing.
