A museum for all, a garden of light and shade

A leading objective when designing the project was to create a museum and landscaped garden at once highly educative and respectful of the cultural and scientific importance of the site, while ensuring that the ensemble would be accessible and comfortable for visitors of all backgrounds – whether local Hanoi residents, old or young, families, school groups, researchers, visiting dignitaries, tourist groups, etc.

To meet this objective, the design prioritizes offering many options for understanding and enjoying the site and its collections. A long, slim rectangular structure bordered by a set of elegant columns stands on a pedestrian platform slightly raised above its surroundings to mark the exceptional character of this heritage site.

Through the columns, a luxuriant garden can be seen, as if through a delicate and transparent filigree screen. In this peaceful garden, visitors are invited to discover an archaeological landscape by wandering through respectfully designed spaces, with a circulation route designed to evoke a meandering style.

The collection’s associated information is presented in easily accessible and interesting formats within comfortable exhibition rooms. In each exhibition space, visitors may choose to learn more about the site, meditate, or simply relax in a comfortable and family-friendly atmosphere.

Researching/interpreting the archaelogical site

To present the site to the public in the most efficient and easily accessible manner, a network of interpretation centres will be set up in the park. This network will be composed of a small central site museum together with various independent interpretation centres or ‘archaeological balconies’. The site museum will give access to zones A and B of the archaeological site. It will offer a complete interpretative circuit of the site and will include objects taken from the site collection as well as from the excavations in order to present important objects from the collection in their original contexts. The archaeological balconies will allow visitors to access the protected excavations in zones A6, C and D. They will offer spectacular views onto the archaeological excavations and will include information about the archaeological zone presented (display cases, objects, texts and video materials). The project also includes spaces dedicated to archaeological research within the park, allowing research activities to be carried out on site by resident researchers in dedicated premises with direct access to the site and the museum’s auditorium, and in the different interpretation centres. The spaces for these activities will be designed to maximize their usages for community outreach programmes aiming to attract residents of Hanoi as much as researchers and international tourists.