This proposal for the Belgrade Center for Promotion of Science comes from DVA plus. The mission of the architecture is to create a space for Belgrade, Serbia that makes education, and science in particular, personal, fun, participartory and relevant for the community, state and region.
More on this project after the break.
The new science center is to be developed as the focal point of a “science” block which is now occupied by the Academy of Drama Arts, among other faculties and institutions. The overall urban design is emphasized in the form and height of building of the Centre for Promotion of Science, while the rest of the built volumes follow the exponential development of height.
DAV plus looked beyond the design needs of today by creating locations to accommodate specialised research institutes like the Center for Materials, the Nano Science and Supercomputing Centers. The pixelization of the Science block, a certain atomization of the modernistic idea of the block, is attained carefully into the design of green areas and the Science Garden that accentuates the Science Promotion Center on the ground level. The Science Garden, an outdoor area equipped with exhibits, is designed to stimulate people to go inside to play and explore the fields of science. The proposal tests a new typology in the field of science centers by designing a skyscraper to house a museum and research center. S-park Center for the Promotion of Science skyscraper will provide a landmark for Belgrade, while giving a reflection of its content to the world as a collection of knowledge.
The 40-storey tower contains vertically stacked exhibition areas that grant flexibility in accommodating the ever changing content and programming of the S-PARK Centre, without columns penetrating the interior, thus leaving room for interactive exhibits and activity stations and laboratories, as well for the planetarium on the highest levels, to float freely. The spaces are designed as cabinets and each Cabinet is devised of exhibition area with adjacent utility premises, considering all public areas in a single level as designed in particular for disabled people access. Exhibition spaces are interconnected by a secondary vertical communication in the form of transportable/transformable staircases within their interior, making new routes possible throughout the entire S-PARK’s display, thus intensifying the overall circulation flow that can be continuous or disconected, depending on the exhibitons’ scenarios.
Sustainable design, as environmentally conscious philosophy, is integrated within the overall design of the built environment of the Block 39. The design includes low-impact materials: non-toxic, sustainably produced materials which require little energy to process and come from nearby (local or bio regional), sustainably managed renewable sources, of high quality and durability. Design Impact Measures for total carbon footprint and life-cycle assessment is incorporated with the aim to create healthy buildings that are not harmful to their occupants nor to the larger environment with an important emphasis on indoor environmental quality, especially indoor air quality. The design emphasizes efficiency of heating and cooling systems; alternative energy sources such as solar hot water, on-site power generation – solar technology, ground source heat pumps, wind power; rainwater harvesting for gardening, washing and aquifer recharge; and on-site waste management such as green roofs that filter and control storm-water runoff.
Architects: Dva plus Location: Belgrade, Republic of Serbia Use: Centre for Promotion of Science Engineer: Tehničke konstrukcije Constructed Area: 15 412 sqm Project year: 2010 3D: Dva plus/ Enco Del’Ollio, Ante Žeravica
