Cultural & religious, Museums & galleries & scenographies
Museum of Science and Technology
Chongqing, China
Located in the heart of Chongqing, on the ancient mountainside of the historic city, the Museum of Science and Technology assumes a distinctive, forceful and kinetic architectural concept, emerging as a new modern mountain among the natural peaks in the surrounding landscape.
The Museum of Science and Technology is located on the Yuzhong Peninsula formed by the Yangze and Jialing rivers, in the heart of a mountainous landscape. This 40,000 m2 plot is part of the new urban layout of the city of Jiang Bein. From an urban perspective, this building will contribute a further development boost for the entire urban community.
The Museum features a permanent exhibition, a planetarium, an aquarium, a space rocket, a geodesic dome, a children’s recreation centre, several temporary exhibition rooms, a conference centre and restaurant facilities. The project seeks to translate the surrounding natural environment into an architectural design that celebrates the mountains, the historical symbols of the city. Science is the dynamic component of human thought and the very basis of human evolution.
The building emerges in a mass of stone representing the mountain, carved out and permeated by a set of high-tech windows symbolising the flow of the river water. The glass pierces the mass and disperses light inside, similarly to a sloped landscape moulded by water. At the very top of the building, the geodesic dome stands out as a focus of all sciences, each a universe in itself. The programs are structured vertically according to functional platforms with a high clearance ceiling (9m), interconnected by the spherical shell of the geodesic dome. Starting at the riverside, a garden-stairway is set up in-between the two sides of the building reaching the site’s highest point, where the view to the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers is at its most beautiful. Fully integrated into this remarkable site steeped in ancient memories, the building embodies the spirit of rationality and creativity, reflecting the qualities of the inventors of new technologies and scientific researchers. The Museum of Science and Technology is a symbol of renewal in Chongqing.
- Customer:Chongqing Real Estate Group
- Team:Architecturestudio (lead consultant), China Chongqing Architecture & Design Institute
- Program:Museum
- Year:2015
- Surface:40 000 m²
- Cost:34 000 000 €
- Status:Delivered in 2009