HEYDAR ALIYEV MUSEUM -

BAKU

The museum devoted to Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003, is located in the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre built in Baku by Zaha Hadid. The museum follows a dynamic and sensorial form and looks at human life as a sort of spiraling universal and, in particular, as an ascending spiral, recognized as a legacy for the future. The visit to the museum unfolds through a particular installation, with visitors being immediately transported into Heydar Aliyev’s life and the history of Azerbaijan, represented by two different lines that intersect at significant, major historical events. Each line is a journey through the acts and thoughts of a man and his country and is embodied by two structures 150 meters long with an innovative, fluid design. These are fractal volumes, their structure elegantly faced with wood and their floors composed by planes in sequence onto which are projected alternately images and videos in a continuity of lights and emotions. Visitors can interact with all the contents of the exhibition in order to experience a strong and very personal sense of engagement. The course of the museum unfolds across the first floor with this linear layout that follows the principal thread running through the life of the president and of Azerbaijan. The floor above has a more traditional but again interactive display of private and institutional exhibits associated with him.