COPERNICUS SCIENCE CENTRE

Copernicus Science Centre is situated in Warsaw just next to the Vistula river bank. The Centre is one of the largest and most modern institutions of that type in Europe.

Visitors have an opportunity to perform experiments explaining natural phenomena or laws of physics. The centre building houses exhibition halls, laboratories, workshops, a conference centre, cafeterias, restaurants and an office section. A characteristic feature of the building is a multi-media planetarium with a 16-metre diameter dome.

In the basement there is a car park and a workshop for the preparation of new and the maintenance of current exhibitions. Next to the building there is a Discovery Park in which open-air experiments are performed.

Attention should also be paid to some innovative design solutions such as a technically complex structure of the building founded on the Wisłostrada express road tunnel as well as a modern and innovative facade of the building not yet applied on such a large scale in Poland.

The porous and 'breathing' roof of the building has a function similar to the skin of a living organism thanks to glass craters situated on its top. They allow to reduce air conditioning power demand and replace it partially with natural ventilation.