Robots To Build Seoul's Robot Science Museum

#byLizPublika

If you were going to construct a robot science museum dedicated to the history, present, and future of robotics, using robots to build it would be a pretty badass move. Apparently, the city authorities of Seoul arrived at the same conclusion. So, they launched an international competition to find an architecture firm that would make their futuristic vision a stunning and daring reality. The Robot Science Museum (RSM) will be constructed at the heart of the Changbai New Economic Center, a newly redeveloped area in the city.

The contract was won by the Turskish design firm, Melike Altinisik Architects. It’s hard to say how different the firm’s brainstorming process must have been for RSM from its other projects, some of which include Istanbul’s Camlica TV and Radio Tower, The Iconic Mosque, and the AFA Cultural Center, among others. All we know for certain is that the firm is aiming to make an impression by combining exceptional strategic design with the incredible capabilities of drones and industrial robots.

To ensure RSM’s layout is user friendly and easy to navigate, city officials also involved planning and management consulting teams to collect design suggestions from the public in advance. The goal is to make the project collaborative. And although the concept for the design for the museum is the brainchild of people, “these design and construction methodologies ideally would allow a rich exchange of relations between its robots in construction, robots in service, robots exhibited and their visitors.”

RSM’s debut exhibit will be the museum itself. The project is set to begin in the early part of 2020. First, drones will map out the construction site. Then, “a team of robots will mold the curved metal plates that form the museum sphere using a 3D building information modeling system (basically a CAD system that works with solid objects in real 3D space rather than represent the objects with 2D plans)." After that, “robots will assemble the plates, welding and polishing the metal to obtain its final surface appearance.”

The public area surrounding the museum will be built out of 3D-printed concrete. Throughout the process, drones will “conduct regular inspections, as well as provide security surveillance and control certain robotic construction vehicles.” All in all, the awesome approach to constructing the world’s first Robot Science Museum is both novel and exciting; depending on how solid the ultimate product will be, its construction can spark a new direction for architects and architecture moving forward.

Note* All images are the creative property of Melike Altinisik Architects.

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