The Middle East Technical University (METU) Science and Technology Museum, a collaboration of architects Ayşen Savaş and Barış Yağlı, began development as a project commissioned by the METU Rectorate in 2001, with the aim of creating a space for the display of technology's historical development, and the showcasing of contemporary technological innovations. The creation of the museum, intended to be a continual and on-going process, was overseen by Savaş, and resulted from parallel conversations between the museum and METU's department of architecture about contemporary museology.
The museum's design began taking form in 2003, alongside planning for the museum's objects and collections. The preliminary objective of the museum was to transform a "found" space for the museum's purposes. Accordingly, the Ankara Maltepe Gas Factory Silo was originally elected as one of the locations to be transformed for the storage and display of collections objects, though the use and adaptation of this space, since demolished, never came to fruition.
Nevertheless, the typology and symbolism of the silo remained a source of inspiration for the creation of the museum's design and its integral research processes. Additional concepts integrated into the design include the moveability and the option of disassembling structures.
Eventually, two built structures were developed for this purpose on METU grounds; one glass silo facilitating visitor activities and one movable exhibition space of metal construction. The glass structure encircling the silo features multi-level ramps, which circulate around an information desk, cafe, visitor areas and a gift shop. Additional materials essential in the construction include tavertine, glass, titanium paint, and prefabricated elements. Construction began in 2005 with its initial phases completed by 2006. The grounds will prospectively be developed further as Bilim Parki, (Science Park), as an area for recreational use.
Sources:
Savaş, Ayşen. "ODTÜ Bilim ve Teknoloji Müzesi." In Ayşen Savaş: CV and Project Briefs, unnumbered. Cambridge: Archnet, 2016.
Total area of construction, 10,000 square meters; plot space, 3,500 square meters
