Out project critiques on how the current Harvard Natural History Museum is situated as an antique itself and failed to represent production of scientific knowledge and only preserved as a 19th century exhibit of expedition biolody. We aim to claim this librarical identity, the museum becomes an extension of the program of the surrounding facilities and not as a small piece of public space on the third floor of a private school’s building. As a public institution, the museum exists as the public oriented outlet of Harvard’s database of wealth and knowledge. This means that the museum inherently makes a statement by its obsession of preservation and reversion to its original form.

Our project proposes a new layout for the museum that merges the two roles of HMNH: research labs and museum exhibition. We envisions active exchanges of knowledge produced not only from preserving the past but also showcasing what’s going on. The grey zones where labs and exhibition rooms blends into each other are spaces for informal exchanges of knowledge and information, truly activating HMNH as the cultural, scientific knowledge exchange hub.