The internet is just decades old and has been in common use for less than 20 years, but it has managed to change the world on an unprecedented scale. The Internet Museum will showcase the history of the internet, as well as its influence on reality and visions for its future development. The museum, whose idea was born in London, is still at the planning stage, but there is undoubtedly demand for a place that would document the development of a medium which has revolutionised the world.
A competition for the design of the museum was held in spring 2016 by the specialist organiser BeeBreeders.com. The objective was to gather ideas for a display of the digital revolution in the fairly traditional form of a museum exhibition. As a basis for their architectural visions, the competitors had at their disposal the historic North Woolwich Old Station Museum, a former Train Station in East London. The architects had to develop and modernise the building, transforming it into an extraordinary museum.
Three projects were distinguished in June 2016. Third prize went to Michał Daniszewski, who studies architecture and fine arts at Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Kraków University. The awarded design was part of his diploma project under the supervision of Bartosz Haduch.
His work Unlimited Possibilities was distinguished for its two-fold concept: a museum combined with a monument. He places the exhibition rooms below ground in order to decontextualize the surrounding space and reflect the fact that the internet is not limited by geographical boundaries. Above ground, he situated an enormous hologram. This hologram is a landmark and signpost, visible from a long distance, but above all, it is a monument and a symbol of technology which testifies to the museum’s main theme: the digital and virtual space.
First prize went to Schaun McCallum and Aleksandra Belitskaja, a British team from the University of Dundee. In their 404: not found project, the architects resist authorial architecture and invite visitors to co-construct the museum building and its exposition by equipping them with various apps and digital tools.
Second prize was given to Ryan Anthony Ball from the US. His project refers to the history of the North Woolwich Old Station building by reconstructing its historic shape. At the same time, by multiplying the station’s corridors network, he reveals a symbolic critique of the internet as a virtual land of excess, infinite repetitions, and a continuous hunger for new information.
All awarded projects can be viewed at londoninternetmuseum.beebreeders.com.