Museum for one object

Monastery of St. Diego in Aguascalientes (Mexico)

The access route is signaled and accompanied by a handrail made of copper sheeting, profiled and patinated, embedded in the thickness of the wall, which contains the lighting for the staircase, which is set in counterpoint with the deep shadow of the space to which it leads. The walls and ceiling are treated with a finely textured plaster and colored with a Prussian blue, intensified by the brown stripes, sponged and then waxed. The sharp line of light from the light fittings of the current hand diffuses and is softened by the roughness of the part of the wall which, on the contrary, has not been treated, thus emphasizing the effect of being defined separately from the staircase element, whose geometric rigor is also emphasized by the black slate stone.

After the first change of direction of the ramp, the walls of the cistern are left in their original condition; this difference leads to a certain articulation of the spatial sense of the staircase: the first beam is intended to form part of the unity of the path as a 'hall' leading to the 'room' to which it leads, achieving a counterbalancing effect, that of cancelling the weight of the wall, restoring the sensation of a deep wave that invades the space of the cistern and, at the same time, gives the sensation of a space that expands.

The path takes an initial change of direction, its continuity interrupted by the need for a pause caused by the presence of a showcase displaying two votive funerary objects and a polychrome terracotta 'life and death'.

From this intermediate podest, four more steps lead up to a raised walkway, only slightly above the cistern, which leads to the end and where, ending in a waterlight, we find a niche with projected images and, finally, on the right, in another recessed element in the wall, the tiny skull in rock crystal is revealed behind a glazed panel.

The black stone of the walkway becomes an abstract sign in the hypogeum, highlighted by natural light from an open eye in the vaulted ceiling, which is counterbalanced by artificial light from three points of light in the keystone of the vault on the opposite side.

Shadows and lights reveal the small cavities built from the articulation of the cistern pillars, allusive and imaginary; the hard materiality of the walls and the roughness of the paving, further emphasized by the geometry, are contrasted by the geometric rigor of the black stone path underlined and by the luminous line that reinforces the detachment from the pre-existing plane; towards the end, the "slab" of water adds up the path intersecting the stone carpet and almost forming a cross that is further emphasized by the oscillation between figurative and abstract.

The project attempted to 'dematerialize' the perimeter walls by dissolving the sense of boundaries and, in the process, 'materializing' the course in a play of explicit differences in the abstract figurative defined by the 'purity' of the new materials and the rigor of the drawing opposed to the informal abstraction of the existing materials.

In the small museum space with the abstraction of the path and with a different materiality of the spatial partitions, horizontal and vertical, the figurative force of the small skull is anticipated by the three sculptures in the showcase and by the projection of incised elements representing different scenes where the protagonists are skeletons fighting the "viul" in an ironic representation of death.

In the darkness of the secluded space at the end of the walkway, a thin, metallic tube emerges, terminating in a very small, slightly concave silver container, and it is this that collects the diffused light of the fiber optic contained in the tube, diffusing it onto the skull suspended from the horizontal plane by tiny supports. The rock crystal bathed in light makes the image of the skull almost immaterial, subtle lines, small shadows, fine traces, define the features of the skull, a luminous point that appears as a point suspended in the depth of the shadow of the withdrawn space in which is located, in fact, a small diamond, a crystallized figure.

In his ^article4 on this realization, his friend Ludovico M. Fusco writes: "The assemblage seeks to explain a different and renewed mode of intervention; in the small museum, the project intervenes in a pre-existing space and is conceived as a true and original architectural construction operation made possible by the ability to use a tectonic paratactile method of composition. In many museums designed by star architects, the space is often the great tourist attraction of the city that hosts them for their iconic value, rather than for the works on display that become almost a corollary. The architects strive to demonstrate their inventive capacities, their personal way of being an "artist". Agostino Bossi is without doubt an exception; his rigorous and 'ordered' project does not shrink from defining itself as a 'poetic act' and thus as profoundly, perhaps anachronistically, artistic.

3 Martha Esparza Ramírez Esparza and Jorje Refugio García Díaz, Mexico, The particular sensitivity before death in L. M. Fusco, in Ode to Death, ed. UAA, Aquascalientes, 2010.

4 L. M. Fusco, Ode to Death, ed. UAA, Agua Calientes, 2010.

The Conjunto of San Diego in Aguascalientes (México)

The access route is signaled and accompanied by a handrail in shaped and patinated brass sheeting, recessed into the thickness of the wall, which contains the light that illuminates the staircase, counterbalanced by the deep shadow of the space above. The walls and ceiling are treated with fine plaster with a Prussian blue, which is made more intense by the brown glazes applied with sponge and then waxed. The sharp luminous line produced by the lights coming from the handrail is blurred and softened by the roughness of the part of the wall below which, on the contrary, has not been treated, thus emphasizing the staircase element, whose geometric rigor is also accentuated by the black slate stone.

After the first section of the ramp, the walls of the cistern are left in their original state; this difference refers to a sort of articulation of the sense of the space of the staircase: the first section is intended to constitute, even in the unity of the path, the "atrium" of access to the "room" below, obtaining a further effect in the counter-field view, that of canceling the weight of the wall, restoring the sensation of deep shadow that tends to isolate the cistern and at the same time to give the sensation of a space that expands.

The path undergoes an initial caesura, its continuity punctuated by the need for a pause determined by the presence of a crystal case displaying two votive funerary objects and a polychrome terracotta, "la vida y la muerte".

From the landing, four more steps lead up to a walkway slightly raised above the level of the cistern, which leads to the bottom and where, ending on a pool of water, we find a recess with images projected onto it and, finally, on the right, in another recess in the wall, the very small rock crystal skull is revealed behind a glass.

The black stone of the walkway becomes an abstract sign in the hypogeal space revealed by the natural light coming from an oculus left open in the vaulted roof, which is counterbalanced by the artificial light from three points of light on the vault's impost on the opposite side.

Shadows and light reveal small cavities built by the articulation of the cistern's pillars, alluding to imaginary halls; the rough materiality of the walls and the roughness of the floor, accentuated by the geometry of its score, are contrasted by the rigorous geometry of the black stone pathway, also emphasized by the line of light underneath, which accentuates its detachment from the pre-existing floor; also the "slab" of water, which ends the path by crossing the stone carpet, forms almost a cross and further emphasizes the oscillation between figurativeness and abstraction.

The project has attempted to "dematerialize" the perimeter walls, breaking down the sense of boundary and edge by "materializing" the path, in a play of differences made explicit in the abstract figuration defined by the "purity" of the new materials and the rigor of the design against the informal abstraction of the existing materials.

In the small museum space, the abstraction of the itinerary and the materiality of the horizontal and vertical spatial partitions are counterbalanced by the strength of the figurative nature of the small skull, anticipated by the three sculptures in the display case and by the projections of engravings representing various scenes in which the protagonists are skeletons dressed in various ways, acting, fighting, "living" in an ironic representation of death.

In the darkness of the recess, situated at the end of the path, a thin metal tubular emerges which ends in a small, slightly concave silver tray; this receives the light diffused by the optical fiber contained in the tubular and diffuses it onto the skull raised from the horizontal plane of the plate by means of small supports. The rock crystal permeated with light renders the image of the skull almost immaterial; thin lines, small shadows, light traces define the features of the skull, a luminous point that emerges as if suspended from the depth of the shadow of the recess where it is situated, a small shaped diamond, a crystallized figure.

In his ^essay4 about this realization, his friend Ludovico M. Fusco writes generously: "...The "installation" is intended to make explicit a different and renewed way of working; in the small museum the project, while intervening on a pre-existing space, is conceived as an operation of real architectural construction made possible by the ability to use a tectonic, paratactic method of composition. The many, many museums designed by the great stars of architecture are often the great tourist attraction for the cities that host them, more for their iconic value than for the works on display, which become almost a corollary. Architects compete to demonstrate their inventive skills, their ability to be "artists". Agostino Bossi is without doubt an exception; his rigorous and "orderly" project does not fail to define itself as a "poetic act", and therefore profoundly and, perhaps anachronistically, artistically...".

3 Martha Esparza Ramírez e Jorge Refugio García Díaz, México, la exquisita sensibilidad ante la muerte, in L. M. Fusco, El recinto de la muerte, ed. UAA, Aguacalientes, 2010.

4 L. M. Fusco, El recinto de la muerte, ed. UAA, Aguacalientes, 2010.