Another aspect of the interaction between museums and cities: Museums as urban landscapes

LIU Di ZHOU Cheng

Abstract The museum， as an urban landscape， has been ignored for a long time in the shadow of its prominent internal functions. However， there is also a profound interactive relationship between the city and the museum. Taking Shanghai World Expo Museum as an example， this paper reveals the museum's role in shaping the image of the city and its role as a landmark， a milestone and a monument from the perspectives of city vision， space， time and memory， to inspire researchers in different fields to re-recognize the museum in the city.

Keywords museum， urban landscape， interaction， Shanghai World Expo Museum

0 Introduction

With the emergence of ecomuseums and rural museums， museums have already broken through the geographical scope of the urban area. However， as characteristic of ideal life， the museum is still "the most typical institution of the metropolis"[1]. It is rooted in the city， serves the city， and interacts closely with the city. There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the museum's contributions to urban development from the perspective of the intrinsic functions of museums such as education， exhibition， collection and research. Undeniably this is the major aspect of the museum that influences urban life， but it also causes the obscuration of museums' significance as a city landscape， which constitutes another aspect of the interaction between museums and cities.

This paper intends to take Shanghai World Expo Museum as an example to explore the material interaction and meaning exchange between the landscape and the city from the perspectives of vision， space， time and memory. This tentative study has two implications： （1）The multi-functional museum is studied and integrated into a holistic landscape， making it possible to be discussed at a higher level and more complex urban system. （2）The research horizon of museology extends from the inside of the museum to the outside， providing possibilities for discovering new roles of museums in cities.

1 On urban vision： Constructing the city image

The understanding of city image can be divided into a broad sense and a narrow sense. In the broad sense， the city image is shaped by people， matter， things and places contained in the city， which is considered as an independent system of nature， region， humanity and society[2]. However， in the narrow sense， the city image refers to the characteristics of the urban landscape， which is the meaning annotation of the urban existence， and the artistic expression of the nature， structure and function of the city[3]. The latter focuses on the external structure of the city， so it has "legibility"[4] and a closer relationship with vision.

The image can be perceived， especially by the human visual organ. The urban appearances—such as terrain， buildings， roads， squares， street scenes， green spaces and scenic spots—are more easily captured visually， which constitute the basic part of the complicated urban image. In contrast to the countryside， which is dominated by natural features， the city is a kind of artificial space， full of traces of the transformation of nature， in which process urban culture is growing into a fundamental aspect of the city image. Meanwhile， in the growth of modern cities， the cultural image of the city is constantly being emphasized： more and more， art and entertainment are used as instruments for spatial planning[5].

The museum has become a beneficial part of the construction of urban cultural image due to its perceptual presentation and platform effect. Since the widespread rise in Europe in the 18th century， museums have been playing far-reaching roles in the urban visual landscape. The interior of the museum is a spectacle composed of exhibits， which inherits the most complete human and natural history with universal visual language， forms a picture full of certainty about the world and even the universe， and changes into an effective medium for further dialogues between different cultures. The exterior of the museum can be called a spectacle to some extent as well， establishing a spatial and visual connection to the city as a prominent visual symbol.

The image of a city lies in its unique style， which originates from its historical accumulation. The cultural landscape is often a solidification of the city's history， constantly repairing and improving the image of the city. Shanghai World Expo Museum came into being as a result of the World Expo held in 2010 and it has dual meanings in the urban landscape of Shanghai： it is not only the witness and continuation of the World Expo over the last century and a half， but also a crucial part in the process of urban progression.

The significance have been remodeled to the design concepts of "eternity" and "instantaneity" in the architectural space： "Eternity" is a grand historical narration， representing the sustainable evolution of human material and spiritual civilization represented by the World Expo. "Instantaneity" describes the immediacy， fixing the 41st World Expo in Shanghai in the long term of the World Expo. This design concept is embodied in the architectural language， represented by the thick and heavy "historical valley" and the transparent and light "cloud of celebration"[6]. Thus， the World Expo Museum building， as an urban landscape， acquires the ability to represent the history and culture of the city， and turns into a link with specific events， which enrich the image of Shanghai.

2 On urban space： As a city landmark

Urban space is the stage of urban life， in which the different forms of people's activities are staged， and diverse social values are produced and disseminated. Thus， urban space constitutes a key to understanding the city. Urban landmark dominates the spatial order within a certain range， making other institutions or buildings take it as a reference， and showing the centrality and centripetal force in the differentiated urban space. Therefore， the discussion of an urban landmark comprises a shortcut for city cognition.

Contemporary museum buildings generally have a kind of landmark in urban space. This landmark meaning has gradually got rid of borrowing from historical buildings， such as the Louvre Museum and the Hermitage Museum. Instead， it has been required to assume the task of being an urban landmark since the beginning of the design of museum architecture. This can be seen in the case of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao which revives the almost forgotten city with its subversive design. Not only has it become a landmark of Bilbao， but also the source of urban vitality and the real center of the city. In recent years， there are some cases of Chinese museum architectural designs， such as the Inner Mongolia Museum building that resembles two beating musical notes， the Tianjin Natural History Museum building that resembles the seashell with pearls， and the Taiyuan Museum， which is inspired by red lanterns. As shown in Figure 1， Shanghai World Expo Museum stands in Puxi with a unique physical image， making itself highly recognizable.

By 2010， the newly-built buildings of World Expo venues have been integrated with the surrounding area of the city， but the connection with the city is still loose， and as an island， independent of the overall texture of the city. In post-Expo era， this area was transformed into a cultural expo area， connecting with the financial agglomeration belt of the South Bund， and finally being a part of the city in a real sense[7]. In this context， the World Expo Museum， Shanghai Rail Transit Line 13 naming its station， formally penetrates the urban space as a landmark， and becomes an essential space node in the city.

In the gradual course of urban development， Shanghai World Expo Museum， a key unit in the region， not only emphasizes the characteristics of this urban area， but also makes the inner relationship of the cultural expo area， its core radiation area， firm， mature and stable， even generating rigid structural relationships and specific environmental significance.

At the same time， because of the particular geographical location of Shanghai World Expo Museum， coinciding with the 2010 Shanghai World Expo， the museum gains higher credibility and stronger relationship with the World Expo， which makes the city landmark beyond the empty external form， as Kevin Lynch reminds us： "Once a history， a sign， or a meaning attaches to an object， its value as a landmark rises".[4]

3 On urban history： As a city milestone

Milestone is originally a spatial concept， meaning a fixed sign with a number engraved on the side of the road to show its location and distance to a specific destination. Moreover， it serves as a temporal concept， referring to an important node in the process of historical growth. This provides an illustration of "use of spatial terms to describe temporal concepts"[8] commented by cognitive linguists.

Compared with conventional landscapes， architecture has great representational power： It can encode its era and culture， make it enter into its actual structure， and continuously present it visually in the subsequent urban history[9]. The outstanding buildings， regarded as fragments of history and symbols of the times， have been converted to the milestone of urban history. The story of the city has the possibility of reconnecting and becoming complete by these traces of time.

Jiangnan Shipyard is the epitome of Chinese industry for more than a century and the milestone in the history of Chinese modernization. Its history could be traced back to Jiangnan Arsenal founded in 1865， which was the largest westernization enterprise in Shanghai at that time， and manufactured the first rifle and the first steel gun in China[10]. In the construction of World Expo venues， parts of the former site of Jiangnan Shipyard were preserved as cultural heritage.

In post-Expo era， the history and significance of the once-neglected urban site are restored， with its presentation to the public. On the same site stands a new milestone in urban progression， Shanghai World Expo Museum. Different from the site of Jiangnan Shipyard， which has experienced the precipitation of time and the revelation of connotation， Shanghai World Expo Museum embodies this mega-event in a material form， remembers it in the urban space， achieving a high degree of integration of the event， space and time， and makes China and the world meet here. Shanghai World Expo Museum and the site of Jiangnan Shipyard in the same region constitute the dialogue of different stages of urban development， which is not only a contrast between different eras， but also a continuation of the fragments of different eras.

4 On urban memory： As a city monument

A city is an organism. In the procedure of its continuous renewal， the memory related to events and time extends to place and space， forming a specific material form， which is recorded in the urban landscape. In The Image of the City， Kevin Lynch writes： "The landscape plays a social role as well. The named environment， familiar to all， furnishes material for common memories and symbols which bind the group together and allow them to communicate with one another. The landscape serves as a vast mnemonic system for the retention of group history and ideals".[4] People protect the urban landscape， because of that "when the urban landscape is battered， important collective memories are obliterated"[11]. Meanwhile， people preserve urban memory by creating landscapes. The landscape closely related to urban memory acquires monumentality due to its functions， and the landscape itself becomes a monument. The relationship of monumentality to monument is thus close to that of content and form[12].

We can understand how we can recapture the past only by understanding how it is， in effect， preserved by our physical surroundings[13]. The museum， as an urban landscape， is an accessible and experiential monument. It stimulates the vision through both the displays based on the antiques and the presentation of architecture， and provides the public with a complex experience of history to "recapture the past".

Shanghai World Expo Museum does not exist as a purely physical architectural space， but has been endowed with "place spirit" at the beginning of its design and construction， which makes it social and cultural. Its establishment takes the 2010 Shanghai World Expo as an opportunity， and its mission is to showcase the grandeur of the World Expo in Shanghai， China. In terms of basic type， it is an event-themed museum， which fixes and shares the memory of the city. Therefore， it has the meaning of commemorating the event， and it is also a memorial hall. The solidification of the World Expo's memory in the form of the World Expo Museum is not a static and simple record or presentation of the initial state of the event， but a course of constructing and strengthening the history， which can be called "musealisation". The museum is such a "memory field" interwoven with space and practice. When people see the museum building， their memory of Shanghai World Expo will be awakened because of the existence of the landscape bearing its thematic connotation. It comes to be a way to construct collective memory， and guides to shape the result of collective memory.

5 Conclusion

When you have not entered a museum and the exhibits are not presented one by one， the museum only exists as a whole cognition， that is， it is an integral part of the urban landscape. The value of a museum as an urban landscape can be equal to its collection of historical or artistic treasures. And like the display in it， it interacts closely with the city and the public： constructing the city image visually， such as a landmark in space， a milestone of development in time， and a part of the public's memory.

Museums， as urban landscapes， have various meanings. For city administrators， it constitutes a new medium for urban development and regeneration. For urban designers， it opens up new possibilities for mediating the relationship between citizens and public place in urban planning. For cultural heritage protectors， it is conducive to urban history record and conservation. For the public， it brings a new way to experience the ideas of museums. For urbanology researchers， it provides a case in inclusive urban landscapes and even a tool for urban analysis. For museology researchers， it conveys a new research perspective that lies outside the intrinsic functions of museums. Furthermore， for museum architecture designers， it inspires on how to deploy this kind of architecture in urban space.

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