GATEWAY COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

SONIPAT 131001

SYNOPSIS

THESIS 2021

KOLKATA MUSEUM OF MODERN ARTS

Sakshi Malik
GCAD/16/324
Guided By: Ar. Ravi Kakkar
 KOLKATA MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

1.Introduction

A museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artifacts and other objects of ar-
tistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these items available
for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary.[1] The largest museums are
located in major cities throughout the world, while thousands of local museums exist in smaller cities,
towns, and rural areas. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists
to serving the general public. The goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving
the general public.

Since inception of museum of modern art in 1929, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has contin-
ually redefined the idea of the museum in contemporary Western culture. Originally conceived by its
founders as a place for modern art to come and go (since what makes up modernism is constantly
changing), MoMA only established a permanent collection in 1952, but it has become the home for
some of the greatest works of avant-garde painting, sculpture, film, and multi-media art in the world.

Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA) is a proposed art museum to be built in New Town,
Kolkata.
The KMOMA had been estimated to cost about Rs 500 crore and is set to be built on a 10-acre plot
in the nearby township of New Town by the state government, is designed by acclaimed Swiss archi-
tects Herzog & de Meuron, who created the Bird's Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics.
The KMOMA is located along the Major Arterial Road (part of Biswa Bangla Sarani) in Action
Area - II of New Town at 22°35′55″N 88°28′03″E.
The park will be surrounded by Akankha on the north, the New Town Eco Park and Kolkata Interna-
tional Convention Center on the south, the upcoming Central Business District and International Fi-
nancial Hub on the east, and existing human settlement of Jatragachi/Hatiara on the west and south-
west.
Building Typology
It comes under Institutional buildings. Institutional building simply refers to any structure that ful-
fills a role related to healthcare, education, recreation, or public works.
Development Controls
Site area- 10 acre
40,470 sq.m
Ground Coverage- 40%
F.A.R- 2.75
Height- No restriction according to NKDA but since it 7.5 km away from airport so the height of the
building should not be more than 120 metre.
Setbacks- 8m front and sides, 10 m rear side
ECS- 1 Per 100 sq.m
Client- The KMOMA Trust
Client’s Vision
The Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA), Herzog & de Meuron’s first project in India, has
broken ground in the new district of Rajarhat. The new museum seeks to embrace the city’s renowned
cultural past and ultimately transform it into India’s “Art City”. Programs ranging from high-end
gallery and art restoration facilities, to artist studios and an outdoor performance theater aims to em-
power local artists so they may play a critical role in the evolution of their community.
Its objective is to bring, under a single roof, two broad areas of work: collection, preservation and
exhibition of fine art objects, both from India and abroad, dating from the late 18th century to the
contemporary times; and the promotion of art education and research. This landmark project envis-
ages something more than an art museum in KMOMA. It has been planned as a cultural hub on a
grand scale, free from any parochial agenda. This iconic institution, to come up on the new super-
highway connecting Kolkata to the International Airport, will be the point of attraction for both art
lovers and tourists not only from all corners of India but from across Asia and the rest of the world.

Client’s Brief
KMOMA will offer two distinct spheres of engagement on its premises. One would be the Art Cen-
tre while the other would be the Culture Centre/Culture City.
With galleries for Indian, Asian, Islamic and Western art, generous space for storage, a library and
an archive, the Art Centre is to have two sections. Its Academic Wing would be concerned primarily
with documentation, research, art education and restoration; its Curatorial Wing is to be responsible
for the display, storage and acquisition of art including photography, folk art and craft, and the new
media

KMOMA- Art centre/city - Academic wing- documentation

Research
Art education
Restoration
Curatorial wing- National Galleries
International Galleries
Culture centre/ city- 1500 Capacity Amphitheatre
500 Capacity Auditorium
Artist Residences
Shopping arcade
Food Court
Fine Dining
Validity
India has an old town and the new modern city in every city. Similarly the evolution of Kolkata is
such that what is known as Central & North Kolkata form the old town while the newly developed
east Kolkata area is 'new city'.
This modern city is created with a dream to bring the dying, old and often called dead Kolkata to life.
A planned city with the amenities of a modern world-class city was conceptualized in early 2000's.
Among the attractions of New Town is the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art. Located in the main
thoroughfare of the new city right next to the iconic Eco-Park, the site is placed on a corner plot on
the Rajarhat Expressway.
Why Kmoma ?
Kolkata a city with a tradition of folk and popular art, Calcutta was also the site of India’s first School
of Art in the mid-nineteenth century. This artistic legacy continues to this day, with Kolkata contin-
uing its role as a centre for art production.
Designing a Museum of Modern Art for Kolkata, would not only spread cultural awareness through
educational and interactive programmes but also provide a platform for intellectual dialogue and
multi-disciplinary interaction.
Need of the project
The new Kolkata Museum of Modern Art will represent Kolkata’s cultural renown by establishing
itself as an ‘Art City’, bringing modern and contemporary, national and international art together with
performing arts, music, cinema, photography, literature, fine art and sculpture.
Programs ranging from gallery and art restoration facilities, to artist studios and an outdoor perfor-
mance theatre to behold different workshops, will empower the young and experienced artists, so that
they can play a critical role in the evolution of their community and also provide valuable intangible
benefits for our society by defining its national, regional, and local identities.
Project Validation
2. Site and Site surroundings
Site location
The KMOMA is located along the Major Arterial Road (part of Biswa Bangla Sarani) in Action
Area - II of New Town at 22°35′55″N 88°28′03″E.
Site size, Area and Shape
Context

3. Aim and Objectives

Aim
To design a space for art enthusiasts which will be a Museum and a complex with facilities like high-
end galleries and artist studios to empower the local artists and to amalgamate the modern and tradi-
tional art and to represent every kind of art from past to present era.

Objectives

• To provide a space for people belonging from different fields but have common interests in
art and culture and can enjoy their time in that particular space.

• To merge modern and contemporary, national and international art together with performing
arts, music, photography, literature, fine art and sculpture.

• To represent Kolkata’s cultural heritage and also cultural heritage of India by establishing
different number of spaces and also art galleries that represent the heritage of the particular
place.

• To expand the multiple functions that support a traditional contemporary museum to provide
a platform for artists, scholars, students and visitors alike to have an enhanced experienced
of the critical role art and museum play in the community.

• To provide interactive spaces, commercial spaces and exhibition spaces and give a seamless
connection between them.
 • To design creative spaces that provide inspiration to artists and performers

• Designing environments that help integrate people into the community and enables them to
appreciate the contemporary and modern expressions of art.

• In sum, The Museum of Modern Art seeks to create a dialogue between the established and
the experimental, the past and the present art that is a connection between traditional and
modern, to provide a platform for showcasing national and international art.

4. Scope and Limitations of the Design

Scope of the project is to design an ‘art city’ with art centre and culture centre with multiple require-
ments to make it possible what the client is aspiring and also to fulfil the aim of the project.

• Study of behavior through end user psychology and come up with user experience design.

• Graphical representation of the plan layout and proposals.

Since there is no such building prototype in India to study and analyse such big project by visiting it
will be challenging to meet the requirements and to design a building which will be first of its type
in the country.

5.Methodology

• STUDY
• Aim and objective
• Research problems and design questions
• Design considerations
• Literature studies
• Literature review and bye-laws
• Literature Case Study
• Live Case Study

• ANALYSIS
▪ Site Analysis
• SWOT analysis
• Climatic analysis
▪ Review of case studies
▪ Comparative analysis of case studies.
▪ Design guidelines analysis
 • DESIGN
• Requirements
• Area Programme
• Concept
• Zoning
• Preliminary design
• Final design
6. Studies
Case studies- Primary Case Studies- National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Imperial Museum Kolkata
National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore
Secondary Case Studies- Louvre Museum, Abu Dhabi
San Francisco Museum of modern art.
Space Design Standards- Neuferts
Time Savers Standards

Literature Studies- Form, Space and Order

Projects on Archdaily
Making Museums Matter, Stephen E.well
Museum Revolution , Taylor and Francis Group
Different videos on youtube for understanding the working properly.
Annexure
http://kmomamuseum.org/notice/pdf/nit-advertisement-on-newspaper.pdf