Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Prathima Muniyappa | prathimamuniyappa@gmail.com

Stories Etched in Stone

Exhibition Design | GDPD
Guide: Tanishka Kachru
Sponsor: Jindal Steel Works, Hampi

Keywords
Hampi
Culture and aesthetics
Museum design
Categorisation

My diploma project’s brief was to organize and categorize the collection at the archaeological museum in Kamalapur, Hampi and to create an effective system of exhibit design. The project attempted to understand the urban and cultural fabric of the city, as if it were a being, by breaking it down to its various components and, after careful study and analysis of the parts, putting them together to design the museum.

For designing the site museum, a thorough understanding of Hampi was essential. Two elements form a distinct part of the area’s identity: River Tungabhadra and the vast repository of granite which gives it a characteristic look. Both these elements were part of the design for the museum’s exhibit.

I conceived a ‘River of Stone’, which enters the museum’s walls, flows through the four galleries and exits the museum space. Used as a metaphor for time, it explains various events in Vijaynagar’s history. The exhibits were embedded into the display along with various other interactives. The scope of the project involved ongoing case studies of several other museums and research into the history of the Vijaynagar Empire. I also categorized the current collection at the archaeological museum. The final phase involved the conceptualization of an exhibit design and creating models and scenarios for it.

This project is a small step in a larger plan for the regeneration of the site. The next step will be its presentation to the Archaeological Survey of India. I perceive the museum as a system which has an invaluable role in community. This project, which identifies certain associations and potential opportunities for the museum, can serve as a primer for its redesign.