La L L A V E | Jasmine Ben Ali

La Llave (the key) is a project for a new museum of modern art in the city of Valencia, Spain.

The location for this construction is the Port area, now home of strong tourist attractions such as the Formula 1 circuit and the terraces for the America's Cup.

The project idea is to hide the building, so as to give back to the city a large public park in this valuable area. The building rises from the earth only with his entrance pavilion which has a very simple and transparent architecture. In the park are visible the pyramid-shaped windows which are the natural light of the showrooms below. Natural lighting is the theme in every part of the museum, and is designed to detail so to have no needs of artificial light. Its presence is important for the definition of all internal spaces and for the creation of impressions that want to be arouse in the guests.

The museum is very unique and aims to surprise all the time.

The entrance is through the pavilion above the ground, which also contains a bar-restaurant with outdoor terrace and the administration. Upon entering you go down using the elevators, which as a magic box, act as intermediaries between the external and internal reality.

Downstairs, the museal path begins with a long corridor lit by skylights above the individual works and continues with a path naturally lit on the bottom, as will of overturning the force of gravity and the usual conception we have of it when we are below the ground. This first path ends in a large hexagonal atrium which is the heart of the whole structure and from where users are addressed to the various rooms.

In contrast to the space through the access corridor, the lobby atrium is very bright, thanks to the glass dome over it and to the fountain at its center, which produces a series of light reflections.

The temporary exhibitions room is formed by two inclined concrete walls and therefore has a triangular volume. The permanent exhibition is formed by a series of consecutive rooms accessible from the atrium or from the end of the temporary route. From the atrium it is also accessible the library, the restoration workshop, the book shop and the restrooms.

In the museum there is also a large part dedicated to the restoration and processing of works well as a research center. A series of private spaces for these purposes are placed along the first access corridor, including a conference room for about 100 people.

The hexagon is the geometrical shape that recurs and articulate throughout the building and the park.