Beyond the Horizon

Beyond the Horizon is a cultural museum in Kuressaare developed as part of my diploma thesis, based on a project brief by the Louis Kahn Foundation Estonia, and conceived to reinterpret central themes of Louis Kahn’s work within the landscape of his birthplace, Saaremaa. The project investigates complementary opposites—light and shadow, movement and stillness—as a means to frame life, time, and environmental cycles through architectural experience.

The design originates from a close study of light at Kuressaare’s northern latitude, where seasonal variation, low sun angles, and long shadows define the landscape. Situated between sky and sea, the site establishes the horizon as both a physical and conceptual reference, where unification, separation, and reflection coexist. Architecture becomes a device to reveal these otherwise subtle transformations.

The building is composed of three interdependent layers: stone walls, a self-supporting winged roof, and sculpted topography. Linear wall cores form a spatial backbone, housing circulation and service spaces, while primary rooms expand between them. Slight rotations of the cores generate varied spatial relationships, while roof wings extend from the central circulation core and selectively admit direct or diffuse daylight depending on programmatic needs.

Embedded in the flat terrain, the architecture is anchored by a circular ground depression that intersects with the building to create courtyards and continuous exterior spaces. Gently sloping toward the sea, the depression allows fluctuating water levels to become visible and reflects the sky. In urbanistic terms, the circle forms a counterpoint to Kuressaare Castle and integrates into the existing landscape geometry; from the castle it reads as a cyclical motif, while upon approach it becomes a reflective horizon in its own right.

Year
Location
Collaborators

2025
Kuressaare, EST
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Information Architecture Visualisation Film