Science Café & Library in Moldova by Anna Wigandt.

Anna Wigandt has visualised a concept space that aims to stimulate and inspire people’s interest in science. Located in Chişinău, capital of Moldova, The Science Café and Library combines informal and work environments to promote independent learning. (And yes, these images are renderings! OMG – I know, they are getting so good these days, right?)

Wigandt believes that, nowadays, there are so many bars and cafes which connect us on the emotional level by creating a cozy atmosphere. This project avoids the idea of attracting a person into a comfort zone, but rather seeks to create a space that supports the process of knowledge acquisition through engaging young students interested in the applied science.

The library-café walls are lined with a host of scientific books, covering areas such as Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shipbuilding, Mechanical Engineering, Astronautics, Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Science and more. The designer explains that Kepler’s theory about the motions of the solar system (presented in Mysterium Cosmographicum), inspired the design of the central modular table – the geometrical basis of the universe represented by regular polygons bound in one inscribed and one circumscribed circle.

A key element of Wigandt’s space is the lighting, designed and manufactured especially for this project. Titled Angewandte Chemie (German for applied chemistry,) the design is a conventional chandelier reinterpreted with 408 test tubes set a rigid black-metal frame.

During the concept stages of the project, Wigandt came across a soviet magazine called Science and Life, first published in 1973. “In it was was an interesting article about the first carbon filament lamp. I found their aesthetics breathtaking.”