World Mammoth and Permafrost Museum - Siberia

 

Leeser Architecture is an international renowned team, pioneers in combining media and new technologies in architecture. They are known for setting trends and using cutting edge design and research. And their latest achievement will be even more outlandish: Their design for the World Mammoth and Permafrost Museum in Yakutsk, Russia was ranked first place in the respective international architectural competition.

 

Leeser specializes in designing museums. The fact that their new one will be 450 kilometers from the Arctic Circle in the city of Yakutsk in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic does not phase them. The Museum and Research Center will study mammoths and the permafrost (arctic permanently frozen ground).
The museum is designed to incorporate two basic parameters of its surroundings: a harsh climate and a fragile ecological balance. One of the main goals was that it should have a low environmental impact. Naturally, it will be well insulated and totally self-sufficient.

 

The actual building will be raised 6 metres above the ground on structural supports to minimize the heat transfer with the frozen surface below. It will rise on one side to imitate the contours of the nearby hill. The translucent cladding will visually reflect the irregular geometry of the permafrost and the roof will have a double-glazed structure with Aerogel inserted between the layers for insulation.

 

The structure will be self-sustaining thanks to the solar cells and wind turbines it incorporates. Sunlight collectors on the roof will also reduce energy consumption by directly lighting the museum rooms below,containing moss and lichen gardens. Light monitors, positioned to disrupt wind patterning and minimize snow drifting on the roof, regulate shades to prevent heat loss.

 

The space inside will be divided into two big areas: one will be the museum open to the public and the other will be the research laboratories, closed to the public. The visitors however will be able to see the scientists at work, as encased escalators will pass through the construction ascending to the museum floor. The hall also provides access to underground Permafrost Galleries deep within the hill where visitors can view a recently discovered intact woolly mammoth.

 

The project was designed in collaboration with the following team, Landscape: Balmori Associates, MEP/Structural: Arup, Environmental: Atelier 10, Wind and Mircoclimate: RWDI, Lighting: Tillet Lighting Design.

 

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