☉ Camelot Research & Visitors Center is a finalist proposal by Andrea Morstabilini and Michele Miserotti for Archmedium in 2013. It is located in South Cadbury United Kingdom in a countryside setting. Its scale is medium. Key material is concrete. Concepts such as circle shape and nature are explored.
The legend of Camelot is the cultural identity of these places that was handed down to the present day, by the discover of historical relics but also by the tales of the achievements of King Arthur and the Knights ofthe Round Table. Camelot is right under our eyes, sedimented in the topography of South-Cadbury, a landscape that is able to evoke the memory of these timeless events. The project bases its premises in the relationship with landscape, environment and the traditions of the place. The aim is not to build but to retell the place. This idea rises from the concept of the circle that represents perfection, equality, and It’s the traditional symbol of what has no end and no beginning, formed by a single line whose ends are joined to erase each other. The aim is to create an architecture that simply try to tell and reveal the nature of the place and its transformations.
The circle shape intercepting the topography of the ground produces different spaces that represent the interaction between nature and artifice. The exhibition program alternates spaces of pure contemplation of the landscape and spaces that keep the various functions of the center, leaving the visitor free to see them in chronological order or using the open space as distribution. Entry is defined through puncture and perforation, the subtraction of a solid and hence the creation of a void. Inside strata of shadow and cast concrete interact producing a magical atmosphere where the exposition take place. The project is set up as a device that tells the legend of Camelot through the power of the surrounding landscape.