Wilson Le - ARCH1390: 2009

500 Words Draft
The inspiration for the re-envisioned Vitra Design Museum designed by Frank Gehry came from the building Centre Georges Pompidou designed by Renzo Piano. The heavy use of metal use throughout the entire structure places the building in the “hi-tech” category of building designs. The sight of all the metal holding up the building makes the entire architecture look industrial and also gives it sense of sturdiness.

The re-envisioned model of the Vitra Design Museum has incorporated the use of a lot of metal materials. This has given the building a futuristic look which was intentional as this building is aimed at the youths. The building has been designed so that it will intrigue the youth into coming in and use the facilites in provided. With them coming in, they will be able to participate in some physical exercise.

The many metals used throughout the re-envisioned buildings consists of steel, carbon fibre, titanium, iron, and the other materials which have been used include glass, synthetic leather and plastics.

The building still has elements of the original building. The use of the original elements such as the entrance along with retaining some of the white wash material is to maintain a sense of the original design of the Vitra Design Museum and to also reinforce that the building was built in the 21st century and that it is a normal functioning building.

The function of the re-envisioned building is based on a leisure centre. This centre will allows kids to come in during the afternoons after school or on the weekends and will allow them to participate in sporting activities for either training, to keep fit or to just hang out with friends.

The inspiration to come up with a leisure centre is from the PCYC (Police & Community Youth Clubs). They provide a range of facilities ranging from basketball court, gym, boxing, table tennis, squash courts and many others. Their main aim in running their club is to keep youths off the streets and prevent them from causing any trouble for themselves and their community.

The Vitra Design Museum currently sits on an empty field of grass a new site context for the Vitra Design Museum will be one where the features and physical properties of the building will ease and blend into the ground. This will allow visitors to get a sense of the design of the building before even entering or seeing the building.

A clear example of the architecture being a part of the site is the Leonardo Glass Cube designed by 3deluxe. The metal bars extending from the Vitra Leisure Centre try to replicate the Leonardo Glass Cube. The metal bars which winds itself along the ground catches the attention of any person passing by and will draw their attention to all the wonderful facilities behind the glass walls.

Second Draft