04 Nov 2014
Science Hills museum makes waves in Japan
BY Kim Megson
A stylish new science museum and business centre has opened in Japan’s industrial Komatsu city as part of a regional regeneration programme which will boost tourism and trade.
Science Hills Komatsu is built on a 14,428sq m (155,300sq ft) site of a disused mining equipment factory once operated by the multinational manufacturing corporation Komatsu Limited and now owned by the city’s government.
The design of the museum, by Mari Ito from the Tokyo-based Urban Architecture Office (UAo), pays tribute to both the region’s proud industrial heritage and the natural world.
The building, which took three years to build and officially opened in April, is divided into a series of spaces under a wave-like roof in four sections, each with lawn roofs on which visitors can stroll.
Explaining her distinctive design, Ito said: “We didn’t want to create a landscape that hides the architecture with green, but one that shows how architecture and landscape should be merged.”
Inside, 6,063sq m (65,260sq ft) of space forms the museum and the connected Komatsu Business Creation Plaza – an incubation centre for local companies.
The museum’s honorary director Matsumoto Reiji said the purpose of the facility is to inspire a thirst for scientific knowledge in young visitors. The exhibitions have all been designed with the intention of creating a kinaesthetic and exciting learning experience. A 660sq m (7,100sq ft) interactive exhibit zone named ‘Wonderland’ and two 150sq m (1,610sq ft) science labs celebrate and encourage the joy of making.
Science Hills also boasts Japan’s largest 3D domed theatre, which screens scientific films, and a sophisticated night-time light show created by Izumi Okayasu Lighting Design. Hundreds of LEDs fitted with wind sensors illuminate to show the movement of air in the museum.
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