Biomuseum
Gehry Partners, LLP

February 04, 2013 /

Panama City, Panama

Photo: Victoria Murillo/ Istmophoto.com / Biomuseo

The Biomuseum, nearing completion, is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, on the Amador Causeway. The purpose of the Biomuseo is to change the way we see, understand and preserve our environment.

The exhibition pavilions are topped with colorful roofs that will be visible to visitors from a great distance when arriving via cruise ships to the Panama Canal.

Collectively, these roofs will create a jagged and twisting silhouette that will be a clear representation of the forces of nature that shape our world.

 Photo: Victoria Murillo/ Istmophoto.com / Biomuseo

The eight permanent exhibition galleries, designed in sequence by Bruce Mau, will tell the story of the appearance of the Isthmus of Panama three million years ago, and how this sprouting joined lands and divided oceans, changing life on Earth and generating the climate we now know. It is a dramatic example of how living creatures and their relationship with the environment can become unknown and powerful agents of change.

The design of the galleries housing the main exhibition "Panama: Bridge of Life" is conceived for two types of visitors. Large succinct lettering and dramatic samples, graphics, or interactive devices, give the casual visitor the main highlights of the exhibition. Smaller texts, many exhibits, interactive devices, maps, videos and study tables give the interested visitor the full narrative in considerable detail.

Image courtesy Biomuseo 
Biodiversity Gallery

 Image courtesy Biomuseo
 Panamarama Gallery

 Image courtesy Biomuseo
 Building the Bridge Gallery

 Image courtesy Biomuseo 
Worlds Collide Gallery

 Image courtesy Biomuseo 
The Human Path Gallery

 Image courtesy Biomuseo  
Oceans Divided Gallery

Besides the main spaces, the museum includes a public atrium, a space for temporary exhibits, store, cafeteria and multiple exterior exhibitions located in a botanical park designed by landscaper Edwina von Gal.

Outside the museum panels and screens will offer information about the relationship between Panama's biodiversity and the world, as well as access to a virtual network that will connect the museum with the rest of the planet.

Model photo courtesy Biomuseo

Copa Airlines (Panama City) recently introduced this striking new "Biomuseo" logojet.  The design is inspired by the dynamism and colorful ceilings of the Biomuseo and represents Panama's biodiversity and cultural multiplicity.

Photo courtesy Biomuseo