大象博物馆：砖的迷宫 / Bangkok Project Studio

编译：李博超（实习生） | 校对：崔婧 | 2020.10.10 18:50

设计单位 Bangkok Project Studio

建成时间 2020年

建筑面积 5400平方米

项目地点 泰国素林府

大象在泰国有着特殊的地位。它们是皇家举办隆重仪式中的一部分，在国家古老的历史中，它们在战争时也与国王一同出战。除了备受尊敬之外，大象与泰国人之间的关系也是独特的，它们被视为家庭成员一样，而不是成为宠物或劳力。在泰国东北部素林府的奎族村落中，这种关系尤为强烈。几个世纪以来，这里的人们一直与大象生活在一起，在一生中，两者的关系难分难舍。

Elephants have a special status in Thailand. They are part of grand royal ceremonies and were war animals for Kings throughout the country’s ancient history. In addition to being respected, the relationship between elephants and Thai people are unique—being treated as family members rather than pets or labour. The bond is perhaps strongest in the village of the ethnic Kui in Surin province, north-eastern Thailand. For many centuries, the community has lived with elephants that their ways of life, from birth to death, can hardly be separated.

在过去的半个世纪中，曾经郁郁葱葱的森林被不断破坏，取而代之的是经济作物。奎族和他们的大象还遭受了严重的干旱、食物短缺和森林中的草药数量锐减等困境。由于没有足够的食物，人们和大象被迫到旅游景区去乞讨，或是前往大象营地去工作，他们其中有一些的生活情况并不乐观。

Once lush greenery, the forest of Surin was destroyed in favour of cash crops in the last half-century. The Kui and their elephants suffered extreme droughts, shortages of food and medicinal plants the forest once provided. Deprived of sustenance, the two displaced to tourist towns begging for food or working in elephant camps, some with unsuitable living conditions.

大象博物馆为大象世界的一部分，大象世界是由当地政府发起的一个项目，其目的在于把人们和大象重新带回它们的家园，为他们提供一个合适的生活环境。。博物馆不仅要展示藏品，还要表达村民和生活在这里的200多只大象的心声——他们建立起的长久的家庭关系、反对残忍的动物剥削，以及对未来的希望。

Elephant Museum is part of Elephant World, a project initiated by the local government to bring the two back to their homeland and to ensure the suitable living conditions for the elephants. Not only showcasing objects, but the museum shall also portray the voice of the villagers and more than 200 elephants living here—of their long-established familial relationship disapproval of the cruelty of animal exploitation, and of their hope for the future.

在宽阔且没有树木的地景上，不同高度的曲线形的墙体拔地而起，似乎以一个适合大象的尺度来迎接游客。墙体倾斜、相互交错，揭开一道缝隙，将游客向建筑内部引去。

Amidst the vast treeless landscape, curved walls at varying heights sprout from the ground, seemingly opening the building up to visitors of an elephant’s size. The walls slope and cross one another, revealing gaps that lead visitors to the inside.

不同形状和大小的庭院厅从四个展厅中向外开敞，有些里面有着小水池，有些有着类似外面地景的红色泥土。不同尺度的户外小径、遮蔽的空间和开放的庭院，唤起人们对当地元素的回想：从大象、人类、他们的房子、一起洗澡的水塘，到顽皮的大象们喜欢的泥土浴。

Courtyards of different shapes and sizes open up from the four exhibition galleries. Some are filled with small pools, some with reddish earth just like the landscape outside. Different scales of outdoor paths, sheltered space, and open courtyards, recall elements of the area: from elephants, humans, their houses, the ponds they both bathe, to the dirt bath the playful elephants enjoy.

要描绘在阳光下的生活，所以阳光成为设计中不可或缺的元素。房间和通径在某些地方被阳光照亮，在另外一些地方则黯淡下来。随着日照角度的变化，这些效果也会有着不一样的呈现。展览可以在庭院里或外墙上开展，而在画廊内部，人们只能找到休息的座位，观赏者外面展示的内容，与此同时反思着两种生物的共生关系。

Portraying life under the sun, sunlight is an essential element in the design. Rooms and paths are brightly lit by sunlight in certain areas and dimmed in others. The effects change throughout the day, depending on the angle of the sun. Exhibitions may happen in the courtyards or on exterior walls. And inside the galleries, one may only find seats to rest and look out at the content displayed outside while reflecting on the coexistence between the two species.

超过480万块烧结黏土砖均由当地的泥土手工烧制而成，这也是一种代代相传的技术。在就业机会不多的城镇里，建筑的建造过程为当地人提供了就业机会和收入，还增添了曾经被忽视的本土材料的价值。经过数十年背井离乡的漂泊后，奎族、大象和素林人将从这个博物馆中获得力量。博物馆的建造，将鼓励他们以自己的历史遗产为荣，再一次恢复他们心爱之物——大象的尊严。

Over 480,0000 fired clay bricks are made by hand from loam found in the area with the technique that has been passed down through generations. In the town where there are not many job opportunities, the construction process creates jobs and income for the locals while increasing the value of the often-overlooked local material. After decades of struggling away from home, the museum shall empower the Kui, the elephants, and the people of Surin. Its programme and the building process shall encourage them to take pride in their heritage, and restore the dignity of their beloved elephants once again.