MAD’s Hainan Science Museum, slated for completion in 2025, offers an innovative blend of design and functionality tailored for Hainan’s tropical climate.
Updated: Jun 01, 2024 12:45 PM EST
Hainan Science Museum.
China Construction Eight Engineering Division Corp.
World-renowned architecture studio MAD Architects has shared new construction photos of their Hainan Science Museum, showing the installation of silvery plastic cladding on the building’s exterior.
Designed for Hainan’s tropical climate, the facade includes features like open seams and water-guiding grooves for better drainage. It’s a big step forward in the museum’s construction, demonstrating MAD’s focus on both style and practicality.
The project initiated its design phase in 2020, broke ground in November 2021, and finished its main structure by June 2023. Located on the west coast of Haikou City in Hainan Province, the museum aims to merge modern architecture with nature, promoting the fusion of technology and the environment. The curtain wall and landscaping are slated for completion by June this year, with the museum set to open to visitors in 2025.
According to the studio, the curving exterior of the Hainan Science Museum, with its top-heavy design, is crafted to resemble an “updraft” – a current of rising air, typically associated with atmospheric phenomena such as thunderstorms or thermal air currents.
“The science museum features a biomorphic form with fluid, soft shapes, creating a distinctive landmark. Resembling an updraft, the design mimics the upward movement of warm air from the Earth’s surface.” MAD stated, Dezeen reports.
Six-storey museum minimizes material waste
The studio also emphasized that the six-storey museum’s design prioritizes resource efficiency by seamlessly integrating its curved facade with the core, floor plates, and main structure, thus minimizing the need for excess materials. Additionally, the circulation and functional layout are intricately linked with the building structure to minimize waste.
The museum comprises five above-ground storeys, totaling 28,000 square meters, with an additional underground level. MAD allocated spaces for younger children on the second and third floors, while older children and adults are encouraged to begin their museum experience from the top floor.
Furthermore, the studio mentioned that an interior ramp will ascend throughout the building, resembling a DNA strand. This feature will be illuminated naturally by an atrium capped with a glass dome.
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MAD also aims to integrate the museum’s design with its natural tropical context and urban surroundings, emphasizing the convergence of technology, science, and nature. “A science museum is about education and imagining the future; we want nature to be part of that vision as well,” said MAD founder Ma Yansong.
Recently, MAD Architects have unveiled their design for the Cloud 9 Sports Center, a 6,000-square-meter athletic complex in Shijiazhuang, China. The center features a fluid exterior aimed at enhancing its connection to the surrounding park. Additionally, the internationally recognized office has recently completed their first transportation infrastructure project, the Jiaxing Train Station.
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Bojan Stojkovski Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.