Emerald Isle

Emerald Isle | Memorial Exhibit and Showcase

Site: 227 W Depot Ave Knoxville, TN 37917 (8,000 sq ft)

Studio: third year interior architecture studio instructed by Marie Saldaña

Year: Fall 2023

Programs: Revit, Rhino, V-Ray, Photoshop, Illustrator

As a memorial to the beautiful nature and scenery that was lost due to the volcanic eruptions, this design focuses on creating organic forms and layering of textures to create a scenic atmosphere with an ephemeral quality. This design utilizes the existing large trusses overhead in the site to hang fabric and structures that would disorient the visitor to perceive that they are in an organic environment. This also allows volumetric engagement with the space.

Photo: Derek Galon

Photo: Andrew Eames

Origins & Inspiration

Nicknamed "Emeral Isle," Montserrat is an island in the Caribbean known for its vibrant waters and luscious vegetation. It became a home to many different groups: Arawaks, Irish, English, French, Africans, Americans, cont. With the given nature of an island, each group that came to live on the island had to discover it first. Nestled in trees, jutted along the coast, hidden in the mountains, each group found their spot that they would call home.

Beginning on July 18, 1993, a series of volcanic eruptions occurred and continued for months leaving the homes located in Plymouth, Montserrat destroyed. To observe the landscape which nurtured many and to memorialize this shared beauty, this memorial seeks to simulate the experience of discovering the natural wonders of the island that were destroyed by the eruption.

Emerald Isle is a memorial exhibit of the natural life and scenery of Plymouth, Montserrat before the natural catastrophe devastated the land. Curtains were the primary tool in creating an extrapolated representation of the sceneries. Moments of discovery throughout invite the visitors to connect with the experiences of the different groups who called Montserrat home.

Project Scope

Photo: Eli Johnson

Project Scope

Photo: unknown

This project involved an interior renovation of the Mill & Mine, a Knoxville event center, to be reprogrammed as an interactive museum showcasing cycling exhibits to help engage the city of Knoxville with global experiences. No structural elements were altered, but certain programmatic elements like a welcome center, offices, restrooms, and storage spaces were implemented into the space as "permanent" spaces for the museum.

Spatial Planning

Creating a clear distinction between permanent space and flexible space, the permanent spaces follow a rigid rectilinear structure following the datum created by the heavy rectilinear columns.

Meanwhile, the exhibit was designed to be fluid and allow visitors to freely flow from one exhibit space to another without a set path of circulation. This allows visitors to discover the elements of the exhibit independently.

Exhibit Displays

Each display within the exhibit references sceneries from Montserrat and transitions as a tour through the island would transition. The exhibit starts out walking through an isle of emerald columns to allude to the emerald waters surrounding the island and the tall palm trees surrounding the coast. It then transitions to a display of a Poinciana tree as an ode to one of the island’s colorful beauties. Through a forest of curtains emerges another display which features the mystery and muddiness of the island’s creeks and forests.

Using a variety of textures and translucency of fabric, curtains were hung from the existing large trusses to disorient the visitor and create a new uninhabited environment. Mimicking what the natural vegetation is doing in Montserrat, different environments are being created by using specific plant species to anchor the space. The intent is that each exhibit would start to create a personal tie to the viewer and occupant just as natural sceneries in Montserrat drew people in to stay and settle there. Playing with light, the memorial aims to represent the island throughout different times of day. This memorial does not intend to re-create Montserrat as it is today, but to reinvent the environment to simulate a similar experience of exploration and discovery as the first inhabitants of the island experienced.

Relic Showcase

The exhibit was designed to showcase relics from Montserrat that have special significance to the cultures and lives of all the inhabitants of Plymouth, Montserrat before the volcanic eruptions. Visitors would have the opportunity to shop from a special collection of items that would draw inspiration from the sceneries of Montserrat and leave them with something tangible to share with others what they learned and experienced from the exhibit.

Relic Showcase

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