Embedded Files
El Museo Inka was a project I completed for the Technology Student Association's Architectural Design competition.
It ultimately won 2nd place at the 2025 TSA National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Official competition materials are to the right (below on mobile), and summarized below.
Students were challenged to design a museum with free choice of location and subject matter. Deliverables included:
A portfolio including a written explanation of design, details concerning construction systems, and architectural drawings including floorplans, elevations, and sections.
A scale model no larger than 24"x24" footprint that represents the proposed solution.
The final submitted portfolio is attached at the end.
All photos of scale model taken by Mateo Phelan-Vidal.
architectural-design-2025-design-problem---museum.pdfHS - Architectural Design.pdfOn overall intent:
On overall intent:
"Perhaps the most important concept when designing any communicative space, physical, digital, literary, musical, etc… is immersion. To most effectively impart knowledge or emotions, a space must be able to immerse its user in an environment specially crafted to its subject matter...El Museo creates a space that transforms the guest from an observer of Incan culture to a member of it. "
- Interpretation and Merits of Design
On site layout:
On site layout:
"Location is crucial for the solution. Placed in the Sacred Valley, El Museo is surrounded by millenia-old relics of Incan history, particularly the ancient farming terraces, or Andenes, that dot the hillsides all throughout the valley. This region immerses visitors in the ancient legacy of the Incan Empire as they travel through it. The integration of the museum with the adjacent Písac Archeological Park through a new visitor center also gives visitors a further opportunity to discover Incan culture conveniently nearby."
"The design and layout of the solution is inspired directly by those of traditional Incan structures, primarily in that it is actually a 1.9-acre complex comprising three new structures: the main museum, the aforementioned visitor center, and an outdoor theater."
- Interpretation and Merits of Design
On architectural styles:
On architectural styles:
"Traditional stylistic elements (grassy courtyards, rectangular buildings, terraces, single-story construction, and trapezoidal entrances in lieu of arches) are implemented in the galleries, outdoor spaces, facades, and doors/windows of the museum. Incan symbols such as the Chakana, or Andean Cross, are present as well."
"The eight greenspaces are inspired by the Incan ruins at Vilcabamba, Choquequirao, and Tipon, while the two paved walled courtyards mimic the traditional Incan Kancha."
"The combination of these various precedents proposes a new style: a sort of historical eco-brutalism. All of these elements allow visitors to passively absorb Incan culture as they actively explore the galleries."
- Interpretation and Merits of Design
On Precedents:
On Precedents:
"The solution, El Museo Inca, takes inspiration from the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), a breathtaking structure inspired by the art and architecture of the culture it celebrates. Similarly to GEM’s focus on bringing Egyptology back home to Egypt, El Museo intends to bring the study of the Inca back to Peru."
"The use of concrete and stone in many parts of the museum are inspired by authentic Incan construction while also taking influence from the modern day Therme Vals (Switzerland) and Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore), both of which primarily feature stone and concrete construction... The entire museum as a whole also takes inspiration from Museo Nacional de Antropología (Mexico City)."
- Interpretation and Merits of Design
On flow and user experience:
On flow and user experience:
"The exhibits are designed in such a way that allows for easy division of time and progression of focus. Topics of Religion, Spirituality, and the significance of the Sacred Valley are placed in series, ending with the Agriculture exhibit, which funnels guests into the restaurant just in time around midday. From there, they may travel across the terrace and encounter the Art, Architecture, and both History exhibits, or go in the opposite direction via the stairs adjacent to the Northwest courtyard, and cover those four exhibits in the opposite order. Either way, the Modern Culture exhibit and final exhibition gallery provide a contrasting and forward/outward looking topic at the end of a visit. "
- Interpretation and Merits of Design
Sketches
Sketches
Selected Architectural Drawings
Selected Architectural Drawings
All drawings created in Autodesk Revit
Floor Plans
Floor Plans
Elevations
Elevations
Sections
Sections
The award-winning portfolio for those interested, including all architectural drawings and scale model photos.
ArchPortfolioNats.pdf
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse