Abstract:
Cultural centres, like tombs and monuments, are constructed in order to evoke various emotions; the outer layer is as meaningful as the inner. I believe that the basic architectural principles on the physical level are interwoven with other structures on a metaphysical level. Architecture must meet a physical need and also create an appropriate atmosphere to convey the purpose the structure aims to serve. This thesis presents designed-based research on a "new museum" for Fiji, in the process there has been a "shift" away from the traditional museological approach giving rise to a more appropriate “cultural centre” concept. The museum is a foreign concept to indigenous Fijians, who perceive museums to contain "dead things". This can be argued as indigenous Fijians today are Christianised and the "objects" are associated with their past, and with devilish rituals such as cannibalism. The notion of keeping an object or storing artefacts was not practiced by indigenous Fijians. Instead culture is a living, dynamic, ever-changing and yet ever constant thing - it is a story, a song a dance performance, never a "dead thing" to be represented in a glass case. It is difficult to encourage the local community to visit museums. For them a museum is something that exists only for tourists. The purpose of this design thesis therefore is to modify the idea of a "museum" so it is more like a reconciliation centre ( for the integration of education and fine arts), where the boundaries are blurred and the self-conscious is incorporated to promote cultural activity in the nation. Our cultural heritage includes oral traditions, song, dance, customs and traditional medicinal/spiritual knowledge. Tangible resources include crafts, arts, earthworks, historic buildings, and objects relating to Fiji's cultural and historical events. It is through this modified understanding of our cultural heritage that we have better insight into what our community was like in the past and we are better able to define who we are today.