The Polytechnic Museum in Moscow is one of the oldest and largest science and technology museums in the world. The new Museum and Educational Centre is designed to exhibit scientific and technical achievements using state of the art multimedia technologies.
The 35,000 m² complex will be built on a 1 hectare plot at the Lomonosov Moscow State University and is to be completed in 2018. The centre is envisaged as a meeting point for the Russian and international scientific community. Being an extroverted building, the museum exhibition starts outside on the street.
The building expands vertically with semi-transparent floating blocks that articulate all the horizontal and vertical inner communications. The shape of the building frees the space under it, allowing for various activities to take place in the protected public square of the building.
The facade interacts with the urban context, hinting at the building’s interior program. Access to the public square, where exhibition pieces can be put on display, is made through a gently sloping ramp. The pavement of the square is embedded with LED lights, reacting to movement. The public square is also linked, via an exterior stepped seating area, to the temporary exhibitions and art gallery.