ARCHITECTURAL THESIS PROPONENT: Danielle Alessandra M. Calot
ARCHITECTURAL THESIS ADVISER: Ar. Marinet Palevino
SCHOOL: Technological Institute of the Philippines – Quezon City
YEAR OF DEFENSE: December 2023
Science is one of the fundamental sources of knowledge. According to UNESCO, our society benefits significantly from it. Science produces the answers we require for our daily lives. It performs several tasks to benefit our community, including developing new knowledge, enhancing education, and raising the standard of living. People in all countries are driven by science education to overcome the obstacles of providing high-quality science education. Something needs to be developed to provide such a potent weapon for economic expansion to keep up with the demands of global competence in science education (Dela Fuente, 2019). The world's most significant challenges have a scientific basis and can only be solved using scientific understanding. Technology advancements have offered people new ways to learn about and explore their surroundings; still, it's also crucial that we build good scientific communities to ensure that these findings have a long-lasting impact on society.
Public engagement with understanding of Science is crucial to enable people to make informed decisions about their personal and professional lives. Science promotion is a need in a nation like the Philippines, where the science culture is lacking in stability. As Guerrero (2009) mentioned, Science significantly impacts a country's development. Traditional methods of teaching these scientific concepts in schools, such as lectures, books, and even small-scale experiments, still need to be improved. A lack of hands-on engagement and visual science knowledge hampers students' comprehension of the subject. The Philippines is one of the participating nations that received the lowest ranking in the most recent PISA results, which included Science as one of the subjects assessed. As a result, the Department of Education opened the door for additional proposals for science-related programs to advance and raise educational standards. According to the study by Bautista, D. (2011), there are several ways to promote Science, one of which is through Science museums or Science centers. Science centers can serve as an alternative source of science education. A Science museum is also known as a Science center. The purpose of a science museum is to evoke in its patrons the wonder and curiosity essential to scientific and technological advancement. Visitors can experience changes in the object's sight, sound, touch, and occasionally smell through direct contact or interaction. The goal of science museums is to allow visitors to share the experiences of scientists and inventors. Science centers usually adopt new technologies to maximize excitement and encourage students to learn more about Science. According to Embopress, art and Science render the form of our world, allowing viewers to connect to the idea. Nowadays, science museums use art to understand and communicate Science in different media or forms.
Only a few known Science museums are in the Philippines. The four known Science museums in NCR or near NCR are The Mind Museum at Taguig, the National Museum of Anthropology and National Planetarium in Manila, and the Philippine Science Centrum in Marikina. Objects from natural history, paleontology, geology, industry, and industrial machinery were frequently static displays in earlier science museums. Since the Department of Education is working on raising the educational standards and engaging in alternative education for Science, the project needs to be interactive or engaging for people.
San Jose, Del Monte has established objectives to enhance or generate highly competent social sector education. The city’s Comprehensive Development Plan outlines its objective to improve the standard of highly
competent education as part of the social sector. Establishing marketing for their tourism business through tourism circuits, including educational tours, is one of their major initiatives in the CDP 2021–2026. Aside from those, they also include their priority project, developing a science-related facility that will cater to classrooms, computer rooms, an e-library, and innovation and exhibit halls.
The Sin+Ag Museum Complex will support high-quality education experienced through architecture or built environments. The project will make science education accessible to the general population, encouraging people in general and students in particular. The name of the project, “Sin+Ag,” comes from the combined Filipino words “Sining” and “Agham.” The project aspires to anchor various science learning experiences through art combined with technology for the general public and schools to help provide a built environment for learning, conveying science learning, and the formation of ideas and curiosity. The complex will focus but not limit itself to creating museum spaces and facilities for learning about science Before Earth (formation of Earth, The Earth’s Beginning, Earth’s Early Atmosphere, The Earth and its dominant life forms), On Earth (geology, hydrology, atmospheric, life, meteorology, and chemistry), Outside Earth (astronomy and planetarium) and Future Earth (innovations and technology, and sustainability goals). Other gathering, interactive, and temporary exhibit spaces are also included. The project will cover the promotion of Science education in the Philippines through incorporating community Learning spaces, such as library, conference rooms, seminar rooms, innovation rooms, and event spaces. Also, it includes the development of commercial shops to sell souvenirs, other goods, and food and drink for visitors.
For the project’s design concept, the overall planning layout of the complex used the Circular and Radial design concepts. A radial design has a core that is positioned in the center, from which linear forms radiate outward. A network of centers connected by linear forms can be formed by radial forms. Because it embraces all regular polygons, the circle is regarded as a symbol of oneness. The project's circular features and elements are also integrated to create seamless connections. This architectural concept represents centralization, emphasis, and connectivity among the site's developments. Through interactions between the users, the built environment, science, and arts and technology, Sin+Ag Museum becomes the medium of storytelling. In line with these, the form concept considered the site’s context and the available access points of the site. Since the design concept for the project is circular and radial, the buildings are arranged and designed in an interconnected manner and a soft-edged form. The smallest unit of matter, the atom, serves as an idea for the planning concept. In addition, the shape of the structure and its facade are modeled after cells, which are the smallest units of living things and the structural and functional backbone of all living things. Perforated aluminum cladding, inspired by the appearance of cellular membranes, was used as an accent piece and sun shading device on the exterior of both buildings.
The project uses an Interactive-Experiential Approach in its architectural character. It is a relatively new discipline called "interactive experiential architecture" that mixes interactive technology, user experience design, and architecture to produce dynamic and immersive spatial experiences. Real-time sensing and responsive technologies are frequently used in this kind of architecture to design places that respond to the requirements and movements of their users, blurring the line between technology and architecture. Creating dynamic and captivating places that promote exploration, innovation, and interaction is the aim of interactive experimental architecture. Hands-on interaction with displays is present in the museum, these are in the form of manipulative models, and interactive exhibits that use different equipment such as projection mapping, binaural, motion sensors, simulation installation, or area, etc. The interactive-experiential approach played a significant role in shaping the overall architectural features, highlights, design, and choice of materials used in the museum project. This approach emphasized hands-on engagement and sensory experiences, encouraging the creation of spaces that invite visitors to explore and participate actively in learning. As a result, the museum’s design promotes curiosity and interaction, transforming it into a dynamic environment that connects education, architecture, and experience.
Potential cooperation between the local government body and the business sector, which supports these kinds of projects, will be involved in the project. The project will be affiliated with the Museum Foundation of the
Philippines Inc., or MFPI. This non-profit organization aims to preserve and promote Philippine culture throughout the nation by providing support to the National Museum and other museums. The MFPI organizes special fundraising events, study tours, and docent guides, among other activities, to assist the museums.
Overall, the Sin+Ag Museum Complex seeks to bridge the gap between science and society through an immersive, educational environment. Its design promotes engagement, creativity, and collaboration, fostering a deeper connection between people and scientific knowledge. The project stands as a testament to the power of architecture in shaping minds and communities through science.
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