Deep impact: the role of architecture as narrative medium

Abstract

The following document deals with the issue of the Narrative Role of Architecture in the representation of knowledge in Museum Architecture and landscape interpretation. The aim of the research is to extract a set of principles that can be used in the design of a visitors’ centre to a meteor crater impact site at the Vredefort Dome Conservancy World Heritage site, north-west of the town of Parys. The research is aimed at investigating changes in the representation of knowledge in museum architecture by looking at Psarra 2009’s comparisons of museum design, from early 19th century museum representations of Victorian knowledge and the development of Natural History museums to current issues facing the design of Natural Science exhibitions. It Includes the museum as a form of entertainment and spectacle, content as a whole and the inter-relationships between objects on display and the architecture that houses it. The significance of the research is to establish current thought on the question of the Museum in terms of the representation of knowledge as a means of educating the public and promoting a sense of respect for heritage and a positive attitude towards conservation. Museums have often made use of narrative architecture to help convey information to the public. These principles are summarised and applied to the design of a visitors’ centre for a meteor impact site. The final design explores geological concepts in order to tell the story of the Vredefort Meteor impact site