awarded, in 2005, to a Polish architect, Jan Kubec, from the fi rm RAr-2. Located in the centre of Warsaw, in direct proximity to the Vistula River, the appeal of the design was its creation as a part of the riverbank’s landscape. The rooftop garden represents the vegetation on the riverbank before urbanisation – how it would have looked before Warsaw was built. “The building has many open spaces and is made from con- crete, steel and glass,” explains Firmhofer. “It’s extremely transparent and is a very sim- ple, plain design, so it doesn’t distract from the content – the exhibits are still the main focus. Crater-like, glass structures on the rooftop garden allow visitors to look down into the building at the exhibits below.” While the décor of the building is simple,
its construction is the opposite. Copernicus is the fi rst building located directly on the riverbank, as the Vistula river is cut off from the city by a highway. The highway is hidden in a tunnel and the science centre is suspended 20cm (8in) above the tun-
AM 2 2011 ©cybertrek 2011
(Top) the building is made of concrete, steel and glass to ensure its design doesn’t draw attention away from the exhibitions, which include the Robotic Theatre (bottom)
nel. The two-storey building has 20,000sq m (215,000sq ft) of fl oor space, plus the surrounding two-hectare Discovery Park, which is a communal space. “We didn’t just create the exhibition in the build- ing, we also created part of the city,” says Firmhofer. Both the Discovery Park and the rooftop garden are open for free to every- one. “We encourage people to use them,” he says. Both areas have interactive exhib- its and the park has its own art gallery with clay models and a stage on the water for shows, concerts and fi lms.
THE EXHIBITS Once inside Copernicus, there are 450 interactive exhibits throughout six gal- leries. These are spilt into: On the Move,
which presents everything that moves from electrons to galaxies to human bod- ies; Humans and the Environment, about human biology and people as a part of society and urban environment; Roots of Civilisation, demonstrating how maths, science, technology and arts formed our civilisation; Lightzone, which uses a crime story to explain electro-magnetic waves; Buzzz!, where children up up to six-years- old can discover nature through shapes and sounds; and the most recent gallery, Re:generation. Targeting young adults, the gallery explores psychology, sociology and discovery while showcasing cutting- edge technology. One of the most popular exhibits is Felix the Robot, which shows empathy. Developed by the Fraunhofer
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital 23
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