The international competition for the architectural and urban planning concept of a science museum in Tomsk, organized by the SAR competition bureau, was held in the fall of 2014 under the motto “science for humans” - the new museum should become part of the large-scale project “Tomsk Embankments”. We recently talked about the winning project of Studio 44. Asadov's architectural bureau proposed three versions of the museum building for the competition. One of them, which the authors called "Through hardships to the stars", was awarded a conditional second place by the jury: formally, no places were allocated in the competition, but in the process of judging the project was named one of the two best.
The Asadovs themselves say about their work on this project that the museum's unique and iconic function for the city, on the one hand, and the protected natural landscape of the site, on the other, made them look for the most incredible solutions. Indeed, the three versions proposed by the architects demonstrate completely different approaches to solving the task at hand.
Version 1 - "Cloud"
It is based on the idea of one hundred percent preservation of the park and placing the museum right above the surface of the lake. A light volume of irregular shape, tightly packed in a shell of a metal mesh, with outward consoles of exhibition zones and rectangles of viewing windows-portholes, like a cloud, covers the surface of the water. Only the entrance hill remains on the shore, barely noticeable in the surrounding landscape. The structure resembles an interstellar ship, moored to the embankment by a thin escalator chain leading from the lobby to the exhibition spaces. In addition to this constantly moving path up and down, only evacuation stairs with passenger and loading elevators connect to the "Cloud" ground. The feeling of an alien ship is enhanced by the presence of the upper open observation deck-deck - its role is played by the exploited roof.
Probably, this is how not so much a science museum could look like a science fiction museum … Although, who knows where the border between them lies today?
Version 2 - "Hill"
This version, on which the authors worked in parallel with the "Cloud", they consider it an alternative version. Here, in contrast to Version 1, the idea of maximum dissolution of an object in nature is taken as the basis. Leaving the entrance in almost the same place, the architects “moved away” from the coast and expanded the museum complex by 180about… The idea of a lobby hill was transformed into a decision to hide the entire main volume of the museum in it. The museum hill, deepened in relation to the ground and overgrown with newly planted trees, simply mimicked the space of the park. Its presence is betrayed only by the transparent sail of the laboratory block flying upwards, the glazed facade of which, in the daytime, like a giant mirror, reflects the surrounding landscape, and in the evening it should become a media screen broadcasting art installations of mathematical algorithms.
Version 3 - "Through hardships to the stars"
Thus, in the first two versions, two mutually exclusive approaches to the project were formulated - a museum over a park or a museum-park. The third version is, most likely, an attempt either to combine them, or to find a third way, the advantages of which could be opposed to the advantages of both the first and the second.
For the sake of maximizing the preservation of the park, the building was almost closely pressed against the existing campus of the university and stretched out between the lake and the access road. As conceived by the authors, "absorbing all the" juices of the landscape ", the museum is gradually gaining height and soars up as a tower-beacon." In this version, everything is exposed, from the facade to the last valve in the ventilation system. The relief folding of the surface of the outer walls is achieved by the use of volumetric aluminum panels, which contrast with the smooth transparency of the stained-glass windows. Green roofs made according to the extensive landscaping system do not require additional maintenance. They also provide additional protection of the building from noise, cold and overheating, reducing the load on heating and air conditioning systems. And in them here, indeed, everything that can be interpreted today as a technical achievement and innovation is really thought out, invented and provided for. And not just provided, but also clearly demonstrated: with the help of a number of ingenious solutions, the entire engineering infrastructure of the museum has been turned into an interactive installation, the work of which the public can constantly observe on special displays.
For the energy efficiency so urgent in the modern world, the Asadovs and their engineering partners, the Engex company uses everything possible, including a ventilation system with variable air flow, operating on signals of carbon dioxide sensors. The shape of the complex makes it possible to arrange hybrid ventilation using an "earthen channel" located along the lake, and a "solar tube", whose role is played by the volume of the tower. As the air passes through the "earthen channel", it cools or heats up, which reduces processing costs. Due to the temperature difference outside and inside, a thrust is created that provides movement, reinforced by the "solar tube". If the natural draft becomes insufficient, the fans automatically turn on. This makes it possible to do without the ventilation units on the roofs that are habitually disfiguring the building.
It is even taken into account that during the operation of natural ventilation, it is possible to generate energy due to the spinning of the fan blades by the exhaust air flow in the "solar tube". This helps to store energy. The absence of paintings and incunabula in the exposition makes it possible to reduce energy consumption for heating by lowering the room temperatures below the calculated ones during non-working hours and at night … In a word, the museum building itself is an exhibit of science and technology. All of it is science for man.
The exhibition space is organized according to the principle of a suite, in which all expositions are gradually revealed to the visitor. Starting from the main entrance, the audience passes through all the halls to the lake - it is clearly visible behind the stained-glass window open to the park, then rises to the second level, from where you can look around the path you have traveled and move on. On the same level, there is a conference hall - a transformer and a science theater. The culmination of the exposition is the multi-colored space inside the tower, where the largest exhibits are located. Climbing the ramp, which is adjacent to the educational laboratories, you inevitably find yourself on the upper level with a panoramic cafe and an observatory. On the south side, there are solar collectors and wind turbines that provide energy for the building - an interactive addition to the exhibition.
The park becomes a natural continuation of the exhibition collection: a new network of paths connects sites with exhibits and forms a single cognitive and recreational space. The surface of the lake turns into a platform for scientific experiments related to water. The section of the embankment, located at the “tail” of the museum, is being transformed into an active public space used for holding workshops in the open air. The roof of the museum continues the street exposition, increasing the space of the park and providing additional evacuation exits from the exhibition halls.
Oddly enough, but it was the roof, which gives the building such tremendous opportunities and forms its unusual, eye-catching silhouette, that seemed to the experts a solution that was not quite suitable for the Siberian climate. But the authors themselves determined their path: through thorns to the stars. In a very modern way, saving energy, protecting the environment, at the same time challenges nature in terms of climatic difficulties, stretching out a daring "nose", whose silhouette resembles a Moscow monument to a rocket on Star Boulevard, to the sky, into space - this is the sixties, progressive approach to science.
