SMAR Architecture Studio crowns science museum in Lithuania with sun-like disc

A shining aluminium disc turns the roof of this science museum, designed by Australian practice SMAR Architecture Studio, into "a new sun" for Lithuania's second largest city.

The 15,000-square-metre Science Island Museum is located beside the Nemunas River, overlooking the historic centre of Kaunas.

SMAR Architecture Studio, which also has offices in Spain, completed the centre on the sloping parkland site seven years after winning an international design contest to create it.

Inside, it houses a permanent exhibition with 140 items, alongside a temporary gallery space, a planetarium, cultural and educational spaces and a cafe.

Science Island Museum's roof features circular access points while also sloping down to meet the ground, allowing it to be used as a public stage, skatepark and seating area.

One of the circular entrances hinges open with a tilted disc measuring 25 metres in diameter, which glows at night to create a beacon.

"The purpose of the disc was to create a discreet landmark that blends with the park and at the same time was visible from the city," said SMAR Architecture Studio co-founder Belen Perez de Juan.

"A new sun for Kaunas, reflecting that the sun never sets for science," she added.

According to the studio's engineers, UAB Planas, the disc was one difficult to create given that it is supported in only two points and weighs 250 tonnes.

It is clad in panels of recycled aluminium treated to reflect its surroundings and provides what SMAR Architecture Studio co-founder Fernando Jerez calls a "phenomenological experience" for the viewer.

"The panels of the disc employ a blur treatment to evoke the context, capturing the skyline of the old town and the light," said Jerez. "This blur effect reflects the landscape rather than mirroring it, akin to an impressionist painting."

The museum's back-of-house areas include laboratories and offices, which are each provided with natural light and views of the park.

Founded by Jerez and Perez de Juan in 2011, Smar Architecture Studio has offices in Australia and Europe and specialises in art museums. According to the studio, the competition for the Science Island Museum, organised by Malcolm Reading Consultants, was the most popular design contest ever held in Lithuania, with 144 entries from 44 countries.

Other newly-completed museums with distinctive roofscapes include Fenix, which is housed in an old warehouse in Rotterdam punctured by a pair of giant staircases, and the undulating UCCA Clay Museum that Kengo Kuma and Associates cloaked in handmade tiles.

The photography is by Lukas Mykolaitis.

The post SMAR Architecture Studio crowns science museum in Lithuania with sun-like disc appeared first on Dezeen.