TESLA TECH
Nikola Tesla Museum competition
Belgrade, Serbia
Nikola Tesla does not belong to a museum with old things in glass boxes.
The man who brought us light belongs to the cosmos.
When an architectural competition was announced in Belgrade for a brand new "Nikola Tesla Museum" images of incredible places started forming in my mind.
Then I discovered that the competition organizers had made the petty decision to house the museum in a decrepit factory instead of asking for the creation of an outstanding new structure.
Why would someone display such a lack of ambition on a conceptual competition associated with such a well known name?
Looking deeper into the project I figured the reasons are three-fold:
- Do things in the cheapest and easiest way (you don't risk much by renovating an existing old structure, it will sure look better than anything that was built in the vicinity in the last few decades)
- Develop the surrounding land with generic housing buildings (expansion of Belgrade Waterfront)
- Use the operation as a cover for the demolition of the former fair grounds (Sajam) halls whose architectural and engineering mastery makes the current developers look like children playing with mud.
My view on the issue was diametrically opposite:
- The project must be unique, outstanding, iconic
- The goal is not to celebrate the legacy of a genius but to follow his path. Hence we don't need a "museum" but a place for creativity and implementation, a technological polygon for all our bright kids to produce the future.
- The best place to house this polygon is the existing fair grounds halls, they provide ample space for labs, workshops, factories, offices. And they look fantastic, like a docked space shuttle.
Now that the idea of "Tesla Tech" was set, the location selected, I just needed a beacon, a highly recognizable structure that would personify the project.
I went for a T shaped skyscraper.
Simple, clear, iconic.
