Jewish Museum
Ferrara, Italy

Gareth Hoskins Architect open international competition submission in 2010, for a new Jewish Museum on the site of a former prison between the city walls and medieval city of Ferrara, Italy, was prepared in collaboration with exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Modi Studio Associati, and Lord Cultural services.

The proposal rejects the compromised configuration of areas and routes within the brief to address the fundamental issue: the conflicting requirement to avoid parallels between Jewish history and the prison’s former use, and the requirement to retain, conserve and restore the former cell block at the centre of the site. The Museum accommodation has been strategically positioned on the site in response to the relationships of internal functions and galleries within the building, to provide an appropriate relationship between the Museum, the central cell block and the site’s former use, and the relationship between the building and city creating opportunities to engage with the wider masterplan.