Marisa Aschettino

Immigration has impacted us all in one way or another and we wanted a museum that expressed this. The museum reveals the different culture and people that make up America. The museum burst out of the earth lifting up toward the light symbolizing the immigrants journey toward hope in a new land.

 

We organized the museum in a layering system with permenant gallery on the bottom floor and temporary gallergy above. We created a museum program with an origin exploration gallery, where the visitor would be able to discover how and when his or her family came to America, located in the permenant gallery space. The visitor can print out their family’s story and display it along the walk of memories. The walk of memories is an exhibit within the main circulation ramps, as the visitor moves through the building they can read and experience others journeys to America. On the second floor the temporary gallery spaces is located, immigration is such a hot topic these days we want a space that can change frequently with the current issues. The last leg of the ramp is where the visitors are journeying toward the light symbolizing the driving hope of the immigrants as they traveled and established themselves in America. By lifting the earth back we also created an urban space outside were the visitors as well as the public are able to relax and enjoy the mall.

 

Currently being featured at AIA DC Exhibition - Professing Architecture: Connecting Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality