Armenian Genocide Museum of America

[Yegoyan]

Located in Washington, DC, the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA) will be the premier institution in the United States dedicated to educating American and international audiences about the Armenian Genocide and its continuing consequences. Visitors to the Museum will come to understand the Armenian Genocide as the prototype for modern crimes against humanity, including the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, and Darfur.

The Museum is strategically located two blocks from the White House, walking distance from the Smithsonian Institution, and down the street from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum — to ensure that Armenian-American issues and concerns, past and present, are never again ignored.

This place of gathering — this center for Americans and Armenians alike — will be a World-Class Museum among World-Class Institutions committed to bringing justice to the memory of the victims of the 20th century's first genocide. AGMA aspires to do so by also highlighting the historic identity of the Armenian people, their culture and creativity, their art and artistry, and their perseverance in the face of adversity.

Visitors will learn about the ultimate failure of the international community to hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes and hence why a living monument to the quest for justice is vitally necessary, and why the story of the Armenians and all other peoples who have suffered similar fates must be told.

Powerful presentations are instrumental for prompting action and discussion. AGMA interactive exhibits and educational programs will incorporate the latest scholarship with state-of-the-art technology. An online version will offer much the same resonant content to visitors anywhere in the world. Exhibits will focus on the Armenian Genocide to reinforce the universal message of our common humanity and collective responsibility.

The Armenian Genocide Museum of America will offer a place for reflection, where memories and emotions can be confronted in an environment filled with hope, inspiration and a commitment to eradicating the scourge of genocide and stopping other atrocities against humankind.

AGMA is slated for opening before 2011. The historically-designated former National Bank of Washington building in which AGMA will be housed is located at the intersection of 14th and G Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20005. The current plans for the facility call for a 50,000 square foot complex with room to expand in the future.

http://www.armeniangenocidemuseum.org/

[bell-the-cat]

Pathetic. Though could it be anything but pathetic?

[bell-the-cat]

Cringingly amateurish is the only word to describe their video.

I bet the one thing they have never actually done is sat down and given some hard and intensive thought about what they want their "museum" to be for, what is should contain and represent, and who it will be for.

Come see the "genocide experience" visitors' center - buy your souvenir Turkish fez, scimitar, and menacing fake moustache!

Martinez and Johnson: commercial architects who have designed nothing of note, and (based on the comments of one of its partners) have zero understanding of anything! Yeh, you have me convinced, Mr Martinez, a 19th century American neo-classical former-bank is indeed highly reminiscent of historic Armenian architecture!

Though I can read something into their design. The yellow vertical element in the new-build part is surely meant to signify the lack of courage and absence of backbone in those responsible for this oncoming disaster.

[Hovik]

Bell, Please tell us how you really feel

I toured the site with Ross Vartian back in 2002. (That was when it was supposed to open in '05 or '06 - so much for that) I had high hopes for it, and would imagine over and over again what it could be like. All the delays and infighting and lawsuits have honestly left me with a sick feeling in my stomach. I hope they get through this, fire some people, hire the right people, and launch an outstanding project. I don't know if it'll happen but that's what I'm holding out for...

[bell-the-cat]

I've got a book illustrating an architectural concept for the museum done by an architect named Edgar Papazian. I'll scan and post some pictures from it in a day or so.

[chinchilla]

Yeh, you have me convinced, Mr Martinez, a 19th century American neo-classical former-bank is indeed highly reminiscent of historic Armenian architecture!

What about the genocide monument (museum-institute) in Yerevan? Not exactly reminiscent of Armenian architecture, but I like its design.

[bell-the-cat]

Here are some drawings of Edgar Papazian's design.

[bell-the-cat]

Another exterior view.

[bell-the-cat]

Freehand drawing of the interior ramping/structure of the cone-section.

[bell-the-cat]

Schematic floorplan. The design consists of three parts: "The Safe", housed within the original bank building, would house a museum about Armenian culture and life before the genocide; "The Tomb", a series of descending ramps in a spiral, would present the history of the genocide and its aftermath; "The Husk", a void carved out of the center of the building would act as a memorial to the dead and would only be visible to the visitor at the end of "The Tomb" section.