EXPLORATORY SCIENCE MUSEUM OF UNICAMP - plexus

Add To Collection

EXPLORATORY SCIENCE MUSEUM OF UNICAMP - plexus

Firm

SIZE

1,000,000 +

Science and technology have had
a fundamental impact on the development of the world’s societies and cultures
and will play a central role in determining the nature and quality of our
future. These disciplines are fluid,
dynamic and almost limitless in their potential to shift the trajectory of our
evolution as a species and that of the entire planet. This project aspires to
communicate the essence of science and technology and to reveal their affect on
the world. It also demonstrates the
dynamic potential for science and technology to foster a more holistic and
interconnected view of our future, one that achieves a sense of balance between
science and the natural world, between innovation and sustainability.

Amongst the many trajectories of
movement through the site, there are two main paths that roughly correspond
with the north-south and east-west axes.

The
path begins at the southern edge of the site, which is the main entrance from
the parking lot and bus drop-off, at existing grade level, and slowly descends
along with the existing topography.
Along the east edge of the path, a grass plane rises gently to create a
mirror of the paths descent. At a point
along the path that relates to the eye level of each observer, there is a
transition from being above ground to being below ground, which signifies a
basic change in man’s attitude about how he related to the natural world. With the advent of scientific knowledge and
the technological advances that resulted from this knowledge, man’s
relationship with the natural world changed from living as one of many species
that were at the mercy of nature, to the dominant species with the ability to
mold and transform nature to his will.
This condition of nature harnessed for man’s use reaches its zenith in
the museum forecourt, where nature exists as a grid of trees that are contained
in planters and provide shade for benches.

Throughout history, humanity has perceived science,
technology and nature as distinct entities with often opposing concerns and
goals. In recent times, science and
technology have been defined quite literally as tools for harnessing and
controlling nature, leading to an understanding of the natural environment as a
resource to be mobilized in the pursuit of realizing man’s full potential.

This world view has led to great breakthroughs and
unimaginable accomplishments. But it has
also resulted in increasing social stress and ecological imbalance. No longer is there a human culture unaffected
by this flawed world view.

This design proposal for the Museu
Exploratorio de Ciencias fosters a paradigm shift. It instigates a new world view that focuses
on an integrated and holistic understanding of the concepts of science,
technology and nature. The project seeks
to present science and technology as fluid, dynamic and
almost limitless in their potential to shift the trajectory of our evolution as
a species and that of the entire planet, thereby bringing science, technology
and the natural world back into a state of balance. This condition of balance is concretized in
the project through the forces of inclusivity, interaction and exchange, all of
which give rise to a design that promotes connections between science,
technology, people and the natural world.

This notion of interconnectedness can be seen in a diagram of
the relationships between scientific disciplines, which reveals a complex and highly interdisciplinary organization, both in terms
of geographical relationships and exchanges between subsets of scientific
inquiry. It codifies a dynamic space of
exchange, interaction and interface, out of which emerges amazing discoveries
and advances in human knowledge and industry.
This notion of a rich web of intersecting movements and trajectories of
investigation and discovery serves as the foundation of our design strategy for
the Museu Exploratorio de Ciencias. We
propose to create a dynamic fabric of spaces that promote interaction and
discovery and provide an analog to the methodological process of scientific
inquiry.

To capture the interdisciplinary
nature of scientific inquiry, we have resisted the traditional process of
creating a project that springs from one hierarchical concept or strategy. Rather, we have developed a series of equally
strong concepts, any one of which could inform a building design on its own,
and deployed them in a manner that creates a weave of experiences throughout
the site. This strategy of creating
conceptual and experiential richness avoids the imposition of a singular
concept by engendering a sense of exploration and discovery in visitors and
staff alike. The design engages the intellect and senses, and challenges people
in a manner that promotes each individual to develop their own definition of
meaning and place.

This project acknowledges that the
world, and science in particular, no longer revolves around a singular and
dominant theory, practice or institution, and that architecture should reflect
this richness and de-centralization by articulating heterogeneous places that
allow for interpretation and discovery. Understanding science and technology,
as well as architecture, as disciplines that don’t exist in isolation but
rather as activities that affect and are affected by myriad other movements
establishes the foundation for creating a project that is inclusive and open as
opposed to being repressive and closed to the richness and complexity inherent
in the world. To achieve the goal of
spatial and architectural inclusivity and richness, we have employed five
conceptual design strategies in the development of this project.

1.
Building as Extended
Landscape – The traditional distinction between building and landscape has been
dismantled to create a system of fluid spaces that exist in an extended
landscape where inside and outside merge into a system of interconnected spaces
and experiences. We have folded the building program into a set of exterior
public spaces to allow the project to resist being contained in a single
architectural volume that reinforces its distinct position within the site. As such, the programmatic components are not
imagined as parts of a single building, but rather as elements of a fluid
spatial system that fluctuates between a quasi-urban and quasi-garden environment.
The public spaces that fill out the extended landscape serve as mortar by
binding the programmatic events. This reinforces
the significance of the public role of this project, and highlights the
connections between inside and outside, landscape and architecture, nature and
man, all of which demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of scientific
inquiry.

2.
Timeline of Science
& Technology - The entry threshold for the site is marked by the beginning
of a timeline of science and technology that draws visitors through the
landscape and into the building. The
timeline documents key moments in the evolution of technology and the sciences
with text imbedded in the ground plane and building. The path begins level with grade and proceeds
to carve into the ground, creating an increasingly significant impact on the
earth. The timeline reaches a moment of extreme intensity as it passes through
the main courtyard and delaminates from the ground plane pushing vertically
into the mass of the museum. This
vertical thrust corresponds with the scientific revolution on the timeline, and
it marks the entrance into the museum proper, including the lobby, information
area, store, library and a monumental stair.
The timeline is a key element that is experienced partially in the
landscape spaces and in the interior of the museum as well, serving to enhance linkage
between the interior and exterior spaces.
The goal of the timeline is to educate visitors while solidifying the
relationship between the spatial and pedagogical experiences, thus creating an
event that is both intellectually and physically stimulating.

3.
Bridge – museum as
metaphor and methodological expression of science. The project has been described as a metaphorical
bridge between science, technology and nature, as well as between people and
knowledge. The building also operates as
a literal bridge that methodologically expresses its structural condition as a
span between two massive concrete piers.
The flanking trusses of the museum bar are revealed selectively on the
exterior and interior in order to demonstrate the structural logic of the
building, rendering the architecture as an integral component of the exhibition
experience. The span of the bridge
allows the system of extended landscape spaces to flow relatively unimpeded through
the museum.

4.
Cabinet of Curiosities –
The cabinet of curiosities refers to a phenomenon that dates to the sixteenth
century in which a collection of disparate artifacts was contained in an
elaborate room that simultaneously stored, classified and displayed artifacts. Cabinets of curiosities would promote
scientific advancement when images of their contents were published and thus
disseminated to the world. The juxtaposition of disparate objects encouraged
comparisons between them, finding connections that promoted the cultural change
from a world viewed as static to a dynamic view of a constantly transforming
natural history and a historical perspective that led in the seventeenth
century to the germs of a scientific view of reality. The interior exhibition panels in the museum of science are
codified as a cabinet, and are revealed in the circulation spaces as a second
skin that houses the exhibits and artifacts.
The double-sided nature of the panels allows exhibition information to
appear in the circulation corridors, which makes the transitions between
galleries an integral part of the exhibition experience. The cabinet is articulated with a series of
gill slots that allow physical access to galleries in some cases and views from
the circulation corridor into the galleries in other places. The grand stair
and elevator shaft form an interruption to the cabinet, providing a visual
cross-section through the galleries that can be experienced as one ascends and
descends the stair. Fragments of the
collection appear on oversized stair landings and other areas of the vertical
circulation core, allowing vertical movement to become an integral part of the
exhibition sequence. The cabinet charges
the relationship between the galleries and public circulation spaces, making
the overall experience of moving through the museum a dynamic and immersive
event.

5.      Ethereal Nexus – The design of the museum and landscape is
intended to create an ethereal condition that subtly inscribes a sense of
continuity and connectedness throughout the site. Ether is defined as a
medium of great elasticity and extreme tenuity, supposed to pervade all space. The ethereal condition that emerges in the project
springs from a definition of the overall site, including all components of
interior and exterior program, as parts of a continuum that promotes
intellectual and social exchange and enrichment.

Product Spec Sheet

Were your products used?

Join as a manufacturer to add your products.

Collaborating Firms

Plexus R+D

Architecture, Interior

Was your firm involved? Add it now.

Team

Jordan Williams

Designer

Were you involved? Add yourself.

Keep Exploring Architizer by Creating a Free Account or Logging in.

EXPLORATORY SCIENCE MUSEUM OF UNICAMP - plexus

EXPLORATORY SCIENCE MUSEUM OF UNICAMP - plexus

Product Spec Sheet

Collaborating Firms

Team