WAVE – Dionysus

WAVE Museum is a proposal which seeks to redesign a currently sorely underutilized portion of Yale campus: the evolution of Yale’s Music Instrument collection from a depository into a museum.

The first step reorganizes the block with a new masterplan to densify and liven the street edges. The northeast corner is redeveloped to continue the length of pedestrian friendly restaurants and shops along the street, while the southeast corner makes way for larger Yale development. The swath of parking which occupies the center, along with flanking buildings, has been excised to make room for the heart of this proposal.

The rolling field, playing off the Cross Campus green, not only serves as a continuation of the park, but as it rises gently, houses a performance space underneath the hill while terminating in the swell of an amphitheater.

The flowing wave along the hill, which switches from façade to roof, shields the collections within while revealing, at moments, the folds and swirls of circulation. The roof has been developed parametrically, allowing for an easily buildable ruled surface with gradually shifting structural fins.