Biomuseum – Panama Biodiversity Museum

The Smithsonian Institution, Panama Amador Foundation and Panama City Council collaborative effort resulted in BioMuseo, constructed on the Amador Causeway. Both the building and its location are remarkably striking, as they offer views of the Panama City skyline and the bay on one side, and the Pacific Ocean and the entrance to the Panama Canal on the other. To ensure that the history of the Panama Isthmus and the natural wealth it contains become known worldwide, the Amador Foundation, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, commissioned renowned architect Gehry. This work is the architect's first building realized in Latin America. Between 1986 and 1996, Smithsonian Institution researchers conducted a study to determine the age of the Panama Isthmus. For this purpose, they collected fossil and sediment samples and concluded that 3 million years ago, the collision of two tectonic plates caused this area to emerge from the sea, creating a narrow strip of land that separated oceans and connected two continents, and this strip enabled some of the largest migrations known. According to experts, there are more bird, mammal, reptile and plant species here than in the United States and Canada.

Concept

Gehry's works typically resemble sculptures, evidence of which includes the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Japanese Fish in Barcelona, or the most internationally recognized work, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Both these and many of his projects earned him recognition as a "master of corrugated metal cladding." At BioMuseo, the roofs are designed to resemble fabric swaying in the wind, constructed from folded metal pieces. Gehry designed his museum as part of 1960s California "funk art," which "did not follow form follows function." The buildings resemble adjacent areas and materials placed side by side that appear incomplete. Because the structure was so complex, it required the use of techniques never before used in Panama—namely, many steel and concrete details had to be fabricated multiple times. Critics argue that Gehry's designs do not appear to belong to their surroundings and are designed regardless of local climate.

Spaces

The 4,100 m² museum, designed by Bruce Mau Design and distributed over two levels, contains eight permanent exhibition galleries. In addition, the complex includes space for temporary exhibitions, two 10-meter-high aquariums displaying marine life of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, a coffee shop and numerous outdoor spaces for exhibitions at the corners of the Botanical Garden.

Structure

Due to the complexity of the structure and the limited experience with such buildings, workers needed to create a full-scale model to learn how to assemble the components of different stages of construction. The open public courtyard is covered by an impressive steel structure with brightly colored metal canopies that reference the colorful buildings and zinc roofs of the regional Caribbean vernacular architecture. The canopy solution also provides protection against Panama's heavy downpours. The beams beneath the metal plates are designed to resemble either the shadow of a tropical forest or a scattered white spider web, each supporting a section of the roof. Although symmetry may not be apparent at first glance, absolute precision was required when assembling the structure, which tolerates no more than 6 mm error in the beams. For this purpose, BIM technology was used, which allowed for the detailing of the complex roof frame and supports. The actual size, location and geometry of the structure's main components were obtained by transferring the architect's 3D model to the Tekla building program, which resulted in significant time and cost savings.

Materials

Unlike the Bilbao Museum, which is clad in titanium, Gehry wanted the bright colors of the vibrant and curved Panama BioMuseo to reference local culture. The fragmented and asymmetrical design, according to the architect, reflects the tropical environment and is composed of corrugated roof panels in a bold collage of shapes covering the solid concrete structure.

Panels

The panels are made of metal plates that in some way resemble the leaves of trees in rainforests, converging, separating and curving, allowing light to scatter. Metal sheets composed of 5 different materials—including corrugated stainless steel sheets, waterproof rubber coatings and rigid urethane foam—also serve the function of minimizing heat entry into the interior. The green, blue, yellow, red and orange colors used in the roof panels do not only point to the country's fauna and flora. In this case, Gehry departed from his usual monochromatic palette to recall various cultures found among the indigenous peoples of the region, such as the colors of the Red Devils or Bocatoreñas houses. To construct the roofs, 45,000 stainless steel bolts and rivets were used, plus 102,925 colored bolts and approximately 5,000 m² of metal sheet, with 1,800 kg of powder coating applied in Thailand using a system similar to that used in the automotive industry.

Sources

https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/biomuseum-museum-biodiversity-panama/

https://www.archdaily.com/562296/biomuseo-gehry-partners

  Prepared by: B.Serhat Cengiz