22 Mar 2019
Regional museum in Chilean desert gets redesign from Studio Libeskind
BY Luke Cloherty
The Museo Regional de Tarapacá in the Atacama Desert, Chile, has been reimagined by architect Daniel Libeskind’s practice Studio Libeskind.
The new 3,760sq m (40472.3sq ft) building will allow for a larger showcase of the existing museum collection and provide a modern update to the original, which was completed in 1892.
Over 6,000 years of northern Chile’s history – including the pre-Hispanic history of the Atacama Desert, the colonial history of Chile and the present day – will be on display in the new museum building, on which construction is due to begin in Q1 2020.
Exhibition spaces spanning two levels and running along the length of the building are including in the Studio Libeskind plans, alongside a mirror wall to reflect the surrounding cliffs and dunes at one end.
The plans also include a café overlooking the coastline to the south and additional education and events spaces.
"The inspiration for the design entitled El Dragon de Tarapacá came from the stark landscape of the Atacama Desert, the giant cliffs and the urban dune of Iquique, the Cerro Dragon," said a Studio Libeskind statement.
Daniel Libeskind added: "Every volume references the surrounding landscape — dune, mountain, desert and ocean.
"The result is a silent musical composition in proportion, materiality, and light."
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