The project site will be located at the CENTER of a vital and dynamic urban area, thatwill be surrounded by HETEROGENEOUS NEW BUILDINGS as a Startup and Cultural Industrial Center, the Photographic Art Museum and the Seoul Arena Facility Complex  that will generate NEW URBAN CONNECTIONS crossing RIGHT through our project

SO, HOW THE PROJECT CAN DEAL WITH THESE NEW URBAN INTERCONNECTIONS ? AND HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO ENHANCE THEM?

Our idea is not a ORDINARY BUILDING, but a SUSPENDED VOLUME that will led to a TOTAL PERMEABILITY of the Ground Floor.

The three main functions placed here (the CAFE’, the LIBRARY and the MUSEUM MAIN ENTRANCE) outline a permeable outdoor system, while sustaining the overstanding Museum.This public space let the visitors to enter inside the main facilities, in particular we can see the entrance of the museum, placed at the principal corner of the area, directly connected to the PUBLIC SQUARE.

This perspective view highlights the RELATIONSHIP between the URBAN GROUND FLOOR and the SUSPENDED VOLUME.This one aims to represent the ROBOT WORLD. For this reason, the idea was that of an element able to MOVE and COMMUNICATE as a ROBOT: so, a KINETIC INTERACTIVE BUILDING.

BUT, HOW CAN THE BUILDING BE “KINETIC” AND “INTERACTIVE”? AND HOW CAN THESE FEATURES NOT BE END IN THEMSELVES?

The answer is ON ONE SIDE a MOVING FACADE able to outline different configurations of the Ground Floor, depending on the needs and the exhibitions hosted by the Museum. On daily basis, it is a FREE PUBLIC SQUARE, while during special events the entire facade or some of its parts can move down, generating a PRIVATE or SEMI-PUBLIC SPACE, defining DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PERMEABILITY.

On the other hand, an INTERACTIVE FACADE, made of little backlit plexiglass cubes. When they are TURNED OFF, the facade is crossed by the external light filtering inside.When TURNED ON, the natural light is shielded, giving the way to a OPAQUE FACADE. The most interesting thing is that the cubes work like LITTLE PIXELS, which together form a COMMUNICATIVE SURFACE, which can bring informations and communicate with the city.In this way the building gives up its STATIC IMAGE, to have INFINITE ones.

As shown in the bird view as well, the facade can be used for visitors interactions, artistic specific installations, or for advertisements. Opposed to the really simple and pure volume, the outstanding theme is the exterior surface, that becomes the representative feature of the ROBOTICS.

So, thanks to the suspended solution and the free Ground Floor people can meet and socialize in the caffetteria and the public areas, visit the museum and the library for your own education enjoy exhibitions and performances during the special events or simply cross through to reach the surrounding buildings. For all these reasons, the new Robot Science Museum is a new piece of the city well connected with the surrounding context.

TA.R.I-Architects

Collaborators: Erika Braun, Seung Eun Lee, Yamil Alejandro Ini.