Bulgarian National Planetarium
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
With its significant social and cultural impact this building expresses a human-centered symbiosis between nature and built environment as an echo of Vitosha Mountain and Botanical Gardens.It creates a warm and friendly atmosphere in a territory with well preserved natural environment and great potential for future development.The program will gather a rich mix of generations turning the place into a new attractive location,a social center,a hub for communication and ideas,giving it a new life.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
A human-centered symbiosis between nature and built environment is the result of exploring a building trough the social, natural environmental and architectural dimensions. The geometry is inspired from the local natural context so that it completely blends within the landscape. A major moment was creating a "close to the traditional bulgarian mindset in terms of living: "Life within nature" image so strong, that it evolves into a vision for individual and collective self-awareness for better life.
Key objectives for sustainability
In terms of achieving this goals several sustainable strategies were chosen
Off-site manufacturing strategies: manufacturing building elements like columns, beams, slabs, etc. in a controlled environment increases the building quality, decreases waste and dust, reduces time and costs, saves the adjacent territories.
Renewable energy sources: Solar energy harvesting system, Geothermal heating and cooling system, Rain water harvesting system, Kinetic energy harvesting system (energy generating floor system).
Design strategies: Natural ventilation (Stack effect), Automated smart systems for controlling the quality of the indoor microclimate, Maximised green spaces for controlling the quality of the outdoor microclimate, Module construction; More dry construction processes; Less wet construction processes; Shading devices.
Biodiversity: The four walkable green roofs are flower gardens, a reference to the botanical gardens. Flowers growing there benefit the flora as well as the fauna.
Materials strategies: Implementing natural materials - stone, wood, mineral wool; Highly effective glazing; Natural insulation (green roof system).
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
With its unique vision and strong presence this building corresponds effectively with the surrounding environment. It creates a place with character. The psychologically rich spaces allow for quality experience. With its significant social and cultural meaning this building is a reflection of Vitosha Mountain and the Botanical Gardens, Sofia, Bulgaria. It creates a warm and friendly atmosphere in a territory, characterized by well preserved natural environment and great potential for future development.
The rich program will help attract a large number of visitors from different age groups with a wide range of interests, turning the place into a new attractive location, a social center, a hub for communication, information, and ideas, giving it a new life. The program gives people knowledge about the universe through variety of exibitions dedicated to the night sky, ancient astronomy, astronomy and society, including a lot of models, workshops, classes, dioramas, and star shows. It includes exhibition areas, skydome, retail area, science and research area, library, multifunctional hall, and student center.
The four walkable green roofs are flower gardens, a reference to the botanical gardens. They are accessible to visitors and turn into a sustainable green park for walking, exercising, meditation and relaxation, and even planting some flowers which will bring people closer to nature.
It all guarantees the rich mix of generations gathered together.
This whole building is a living, complex ecosystem of social, cultural, natural, and built environment, which engages society through involving citizens into its existance, through promoting the values of sustainability, trough co-existing together with nature, and trough greeting the biodiversity.
Key objectives for inclusion
The environment is accessible to visitors of different age groups and for disabled people. Ramps and elevators are evenly distributed in order to meet local regulations. Tactile installations incorporating relief pictograms and braille characters will enable all visitors - including also visually impaired - to understand the various parts of program, for example exhibitions, or books from the library.
Financial inclusion follows the strategy of encouraging the local buisness. All materials and resources are considered to be delivered by local manufacturers. This will encourage them as well as the local industry to adopt new sustainable standarts and methods for manufacturing. It also will reflect as a reduction of the transportation and fuel costs. All construction elements (columns, beams, etc.) are unitized which means faster, more quality, and cheaper manufacturing procces. Renewable energy sources and the quality materials will reduce the bills several times. This will reduce the total cost which will reduse rental prices so that this service is affordable to more people.
Innovative character
A human-centered symbiosis between nature and built environment. This concept proposes an idea for sustainable green building and biophilic design. New social spaces deliver flexibility and allow people to interact and connect. The beauty of this concept stands behind the aesthetics of co-existance. New technologies and contemporary design strategies successfully promote the co-existence of built environment and nature by integrating living nature into the building. Therefore this project delivers new type of social spaces which introduse an idea as old as the world in a new manner: Life within nature.
