The new headquarters of the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade

A museum filled with the spirit of Tesla

Every project we work on is treated with the utmost care, striving to understand the needs of place, time, its history and context. We believe that architecture should combine respect for heritage with a response to contemporary challenges. Therefore, the main objective of our concept is the protection of the historic building and its appropriate adaptation. The facility is to perform a new function, while meeting modern requirements. The historical structure, hidden under many years of layering, is intended to become not only a background for the exposition, but also a co-creator of the story of the great inventor.

‍

The architectural composition is concentrated around a high chimney located in the center of the layout. Formerly a symbol of modernity and development of the city, today a symbol of Serbia's industrial heritage. In our concept, we propose to fill it with light in the form of a lantern, an invariable reference point around which the functional structure of the Museum is organized. This architectural gesture finds a strong identity, where the structure and its surroundings become a story of Tesla's ideas and achievements.

‍

Around the lighthouse were organized two “rings” circled in the space of the object: the public space in the courtyard of the factory and the path of the exhibition halls located in the halls surrounding the courtyard. In the ground floor of the chimney, we placed an illuminated room covering the urn with the ashes of the inventor. Thanks to the proposed functional layout, the illuminated base of the lantern will be visible from all the rooms located around it — simultaneously reminding of Tesla's physical and symbolic presence and filling the museum with its spirit.

‍

With the changes in the functions of the factory and the nature of the environment, we have changed the model of functioning. A factory that operated “outside” is now becoming an attractor that works “inward” by inviting users inside. In this way, we have moved away from classical function thinking by inverting the standard functional layout. Such non-standard thinking requires non-standard solutions. To enter the central zone you need to pass under the west wing, that is, without interfering with the external facades. The central, open entrance area was arranged as an inner courtyard covered with a glass roof, combining the history of the place with the memory of Tesla. It is a combination of history — the preserved central Mill with the current identity of the Museum.

‍

The proposed functional composition offers a rich sequence of experiences, divided into five zones cooperating with each other, with varying degrees of accessibility. In addition to museum, exhibition and administrative spaces, we have planned spaces in the museum to organize events, workshops and prototyping zones, where Nikola Tesla's unrealized dreams become reality. Passers-by are introduced to the story of Nikola Tesla without even being in the building yet. In front of the building, we designed the Inspiration Square which acts as a link between the city and the world of the Museum, which is full of greenery and a carnage inspired by Tesla's inventions.

‍

‍