The foreign inside of Us - LA+Exotique Competition

The foreign inside of us - A Landscape Approach to „the exotique, the other and the self“
The site is defined by its history, its location in the urban layout next to the river seine and the architectural context of the Jardins des Plantes and the museums. This complexity finds a translation in the design. Three steps serve this purpose.

First, the approach of the museum, as well as related colonial structures, must be questioned and reflected - in the truest sense of the word. A space-filling water surface serves as an oversized mirror of the surroundings. The water also establishes a relationship with the Seine River and can be important as a cooling object for the city climate - similar to how the Seine's underground pipe system functions as cooling for public buildings. On narrow paths, visitors are forced to experience the place in a different perspective through this new element. The reflection of the surroundings is superimposed on the reflection of oneself in the water surface. Visitors themselves become part of the installation and question their own role and position.

The second step is to question the procedure of the exhibition. Instead of "exotic exhibits", visitors themselves become the object of the exhibition in small pavilions. Through the iron bars, the view outside and inside becomes an unusual moment - hierarchies shift.
Lastly, the former medical gardens that were laid out here are being rediscovered as a design element. Instead of only autochthonous plants, diverse medicinal plants are planted in beds around the water basin and in the pavilions. Visitors can learn about the effects and participate in the gardening themselves. Intense aromatic atmospheres are created in the pavilions, which can have a meditative effect.

The site can be experienced in a new way through the elements; at the same time, the existing structure is carefully embedded. The change of perspective allows for an exciting confrontation and invites visitors to reflect.