The cultural influence of Edgar Allan Poe is immeasurable. He is widely recognized as the principal progenitor of the horror, psychological thriller, mystery, and even science fiction genres. He is seen as a master of writing in his short stories and poetry, weaving in historical and literary references alongside figurative speech.

A new museum, the first to be dedicated to the writer, is an opportunity not only to celebrate and display his work and influence, but also to reflect his body of work.

Figurative expression is an innate quality of architecture. Indeed, architecture throughout history has been made to be more than its common use. Rather buildings have been made to tell stories of what they are about as poetic expressions of literary, religious, and folk themes.

This new building for a most colorful writer was seen as an opportunity to explore the capacity for architecture to hold meaning. Alongside a literal transcription of text on building materials, a figurative language is explored to consider the limits of symbolism, allusion, tone, and representation. The building itself is considered a text of multiple meanings left to be read, contemplated, and interpreted by the visitor/reader.

The project is an exploration on the human experience, understanding it as part the built environment, wherein architecture is seen as a historical palimpsest of writings.

The hope is to create a place that is at once legible and enigmatic. The project is an exploration of tone, through lighting, materiality, and scale. At the same time, specific references to Poe’s writings are embedded throughout as “easter eggs” to be found by visitors.