Pedagogy 2025

Abstract

This paper posits the museum not merely as a cultural repository but as a vital cognitive infrastructure, fundamentally re-evaluating the symbiotic relationship between human intelligence and the artificial environment in the digital age. This paradigm shifts the logic of museum design from ‘display design’ to ‘cognitive architecture.’ While the concept of museums as ‘cultural infrastructure’ is widely acknowledged, ‘cognitive infrastructure’ is proposed as a metaphorical and expansive concept. It denotes the socio-technical-spatial systems that furnish frameworks for knowledge, shape modes of cognition, influence habits of mind, and facilitate collective learning and memory. The paper elaborates on this theoretical framework through a graduate-level design studio focused on the digital and intelligent renewal of a traditional museum. Using the “Sericulture and Weaving Illustrations” as a primary case, the studio tackled the cognitive construction, digital exhibition, and interactive experience design of silkworm-raising and silk-weaving intangible cultural heritage. The design methodology was executed in four sequential, interconnected steps: First, constructing a Spatial Narrative and Sequence to organize content flow. Second, designing interactions to activate Embodied Cognition, engaging visitors’ physical and sensory modalities. Third, Atmosphere crafting to evoke emotional resonance and immersive engagement. Finally, providing Multiple Cognitive Paths to accommodate diverse learning styles and foster personalized, non-linear exploration. This case study demonstrates how a smart museum, functioning as cognitive infrastructure, can dynamically curate and sustain intangible cultural heritage for contemporary audiences.