Non Linear

This project is about the linear museum type as a creased and figured bar. Clearly, the problem facing contemporary museums is what model best serves the viewing experience: linear or non-linear? A linear strategy holds the viewer’s hand and leads them from one room to the next in a top-down sequence. A non-linear approach relies on short cuts, bridges, pass-throughs, and digital displays to offer the museum-goer a chance to customize their own experience. It’s a problem of control vs. choice. The former model gives the architect and museum full control over what narrative is formalized, at the expense of public choice. The latter model gives the viewing public a range of choices at the expense of a single narrative. It’s a gamble either way.