plexus r + d received third prize in an international design competition for the Museum of Exploratory Science and Technology in Campinas, SP, Brasil. Over 170 teams from 19 countries participated in the first phase of the open competition. During the second phase of the competition, plexus was among five teams from Brazil, Japan and the United States to travel to Campinas and present their project to Museum staff and an international jury.

Science and technology have had a fundamental impact on the development of the world’s societies and cultures and will play a central role in determining the nature and quality of our future. These disciplines are fluid, dynamic and almost limitless in their potential to shift the trajectory of our evolution as a species and that of the entire planet. This project aspires to communicate the essence of science and technology and to reveal their affect on the world. It also demonstrates the dynamic potential for science and technology to foster a more holistic and interconnected view of our future, one that achieves a sense of balance between science and the natural world, between innovation and sustainability.

Amongst the many trajectories of movement through the site, there are two main paths that roughly correspond with the north-south and east-west axes.

The path begins at the southern edge of the site, which is the main entrance from the parking lot and bus drop-off, at existing grade level, and slowly descends along with the existing topography. Along the east edge of the path, a grass plane rises gently to create a mirror of the paths descent. At a point along the path that relates to the eye level of each observer, there is a transition from being above ground to being below ground, which signifies a basic change in man’s attitude about how he related to the natural world. With the advent of scientific knowledge and the technological advances that resulted from this knowledge, man’s relationship with the natural world changed from living as one of many species that were at the mercy of nature, to the dominant species with the ability to mold and transform nature to his will. This condition of nature harnessed for man’s use reaches its zenith in the museum forecourt, where nature exists as a grid of trees that are contained in planters and provide shade for benches.

Throughout history, humanity has perceived science, technology and nature as distinct entities with often opposing concerns and goals. In recent times, science and technology have been defined quite literally as tools for harnessing and controlling nature, leading to an understanding of the natural environment as a resource to be mobilized in the pursuit of realizing man’s full potential.

This world view has led to great breakthroughs and unimaginable accomplishments. But it has also resulted in increasing social stress and ecological imbalance. No longer is there a human culture unaffected by this flawed world view.

This design proposal for the Museu Exploratorio de Ciencias fosters a paradigm shift. It instigates a new world view that focuses on an integrated and holistic understanding of the concepts of science, technology and nature. The project seeks to present science and technology as fluid, dynamic and almost limitless in their potential to shift the trajectory of our evolution as a species and that of the entire planet, thereby bringing science, technology and the natural world back into a state of balance. This condition of balance is concretized in the project through the forces of inclusivity, interaction and exchange, all of which give rise to a design that promotes connections between science, technology, people and the natural world.

This notion of interconnectedness can be seen in a diagram of the relationships between scientific disciplines, which reveals a complex and highly interdisciplinary organization, both in terms of geographical relationships and exchanges between subsets of scientific inquiry. It codifies a dynamic space of exchange, interaction and interface, out of which emerges amazing discoveries and advances in human knowledge and industry. This notion of a rich web of intersecting movements and trajectories of investigation and discovery serves as the foundation of our design strategy for the Museu Exploratorio de Ciencias. We propose to create a dynamic fabric of spaces that promote interaction and discovery and provide an analog to the methodological process of scientific inquiry.

To capture the interdisciplinary nature of scientific inquiry, we have resisted the traditional process of creating a project that springs from one hierarchical concept or strategy. Rather, we have developed a series of equally strong concepts, any one of which could inform a building design on its own, and deployed them in a manner that creates a weave of experiences throughout the site. This strategy of creating conceptual and experiential richness avoids the imposition of a singular concept by engendering a sense of exploration and discovery in visitors and staff alike. The design engages the intellect and senses, and challenges people in a manner that promotes each individual to develop their own definition of meaning and place.