The National Museum beyond the Palace: three Projects in the Botanical Garden of Quinta da Boa Vista

Abstract

The Imperial Palace, headquarter building of the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, suffered a major fire on September 2, 2018, which devastated much of its interior and compromised not only its collection, but also the dynamics of the scientific community that interacted there on a daily basis. Three projects developed in an emergency action coordinated by professors from the School of Architecture and Urbanism of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro are presented with the aim to reveal the spatialities of the National Museum and its functions beyond Paço Imperial, in the Botanical Garden of Quinta da Boa Vista. These are small-scale interventions of subtle visibility that make up, through the lens of architectural design, a critical analysis of the spatial conditions and functional dynamics that involve the history and present of the National Museum. Initially, the theoretical and practical framework of the interventions will be presented, with focus on the debate about the critical potential of the architectural project and its forms of representation. Then, some methodological themes for the development of architectural projects in the academic environment will be addressed with the intent to foster the participation of student and faculty in the processes of transformation, maintenance, and expansion of public university infrastructure.