Science Island Kaunas

Approach to the Science Centre along the Nemunas river channel  

Kaunas Science Centre offers abundant exterior space, generously sheltered by the building itself. In fact, the space between waterside, embankment and Nemunas River channel and the Science Centre´s mirroring underside is constituting an additional exhibition floor, widely visible by passersby on the embankment, on the island, or on their way to the future conference Centre across the river. As a consequence the Centre’s outdoor activity adds to the urban activity an unexpected open, architectural space. Proposed outdoor installations can include: o A ROBOTIC GARDEN as an extension to the Centre´s robotic lab, allowing for experimentation on an exciting urban scale. Robotic arms, as parts of hands on games, giving the general public a 1 to 1 understanding of the robot as an extension of the human body and mind. o A WATER GARDEN including a variety of interactive fountains + water games based on the physics of water in summertime, snow and ice in wintertime. o A LIGTH GARDEN o AN EVENT + RELAXATION AREA allows for open air concerts, public screenings, stage plays and public lectures on big scale. Such events can span across the river, the river might even be the stage. Exterior surfaces are opaque or of filter like character. A special role is given to the underside of the center, it will have mirroring qualities, produced by thin, rippled stainless steel cladding, perforated to produce soft acoustics and together with the water plane of Nemunas Island Channel it constitutes a double mirror, one natural, the other constructed, able to reflect all the movement on the ground as well as the visitor who by entering the center is penetrating the reflections of the earth´s surface.  

The Science Centre in early frosty morning from Nemunas Island