034 PROJECT 1


Left Kanva wanted to keep the structural beams exposed, in dialogue with its additions


Below With a succession of narrowed passageways, open spaces and obstacles, Kanva has attempted to curate the way visitors circulate through the museum. This ‘ecotransit’ system has been designed to inspire a proximity to nature


kind of sanctity to the ecosystems, a break between the city outside and these five very different worlds.


Each ecosystem is then entered via an ‘ecotransit’ – a narrowed passageway, with a subtle upward tilt to the floor that slows the pace. At the entrance to the ecosystem, there are automatic doors; when these open, the smells and sounds flood in, but the sights – delaying the use of this more dominant sense – are still obstructed by a beaded curtain for a few seconds longer.


Reflecting on what Kanva learned through the process, Bebawi explains how surprised he was by the simultaneous strength and fragility of the ecosystems. While these are man-made environments, they are very much living things, and even small imbalances can cause major problems. This was a challenge during construction: ‘You can’t drop a screw here,’ Bebawi says. ‘You can’t leave anything behind, because you’ll never find that nail, and when we bring the species back, they’ll find it, they’ll eat it, then they’re going to get very hurt.’ Despite the immersive experience, Kanva still wanted the visitor to be aware of the man-


made nature of the place, and decided to expose the mechanical systems that create and maintain the conditions for each ecosystem. In a similar way, visitors are able, for the first time, to look down over all the areas from a new ‘belvedere’ level. This is also where the educational areas of the science museum are located, separated from both the ecosystems and the calm of the central void below. Kanva hopes to leave a lasting impact on Biodome visitors – even though they will only be in the space for an hour and a half, maybe two, before leaving. Bebawi says he has received a number of notes from parents to this effect.


Equally, describing those six years and their impact on the firm, Bebawi describes it as a ‘lifetime project’ – he even has the start and end dates carved into a fence at home. He and Radulescu were anxious in the beginning, having never done a museum before, but were also reliant on winning the competition for the survival of the practice. But beyond that, Bebawi feels it has profoundly affected the team. ‘I think it changed our lives,’ he says. ‘I’d go as far as that.’


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