The soon-to-be-built Robot Science Museum in Seoul, South Korea, will be a robotics exhibition itself. The museum, to be designed by Turkish firm Melike Altınışık Architects (MAA), will be built by robots when construction begins next year. In this way, the construction of the building itself will be the museum’s “first exhibition,” according to principal Melike Altınışık, whose firm is already known for distinctively sci-fi buildings like the 882-foot Küçük Çamlıca TV and Radio Tower, which is currently under construction in Istanbul.
The ovoid form of the museum, which will display a range of technologies, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and holograms, is designed to create a set of “non-directional” relationships both within the interiors, but also in the public space and the street that surrounds it. The intent is to shift relationships for foot and vehicle traffic and create a more ambiguous flow between inside and out. The entire architectural and visual language of the museum is intended to showcase the museum’s own mission to educate the public on science and technology by using cutting-edge materials and high-tech fabrication techniques, including robotic construction.
While the specifics of the robot technology to be used will be announced later this spring, the current plan is to use one “team” of robots to construct the curved metal facade, completing all steps from shaping to assembly to welding and polishing. An additional team of robots will 3-D print concrete, primarily for the spaces surrounding the museum. Both will be directed by BIM systems and help the building itself “manifest robots, science, technology, and innovation,” according to MAA.
The museum was commissioned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and will operate as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Museums with plans to open in full in 2022. It will form part of the Changbai New Economic Center in Seoul’s Chang-dong neighborhood as part of a new cultural center.