Architecture, Urban Design & Collective Space
CHENGDU, CHINA
MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES
幻方旅设/MSTDI
Type: Competition / Cultural
Size: 11880m2
Project Leader: Isaac Landeros, Carlos Espino
Team: Linzhe, Wudi
2021
Project Overview
A competition entry for the 2024 Chengdu World Horticultural Exposition, the Museum of Natural Sciences follows the existing hills and river causeway of its site, flowing like a fluid form floating above and along the ground. At 11,880 m², the design threads a single continuous gesture through the landscape, grounded where it meets the hillside, elevated where it opens toward the river.
Ground Hills and Air Galleries
The museum's program is organized into two levels that give the design its name. The Ground Hills, carved as arched openings into the sloping terrain, hold the main entrance and lobby, a 500-person auditorium, an events space, the Hills Exhibition Galleries, a gift shop, and administrative and service facilities. Above, the Air Galleries float along the elevated volume, containing the Permanent and Temporary Exhibition spaces, an Education and Leisure Room, and a floating restaurant with views south across the river.
Related Projects:
River, Hills, and Habitat
The design responds directly to its Chengdu setting: shaped by the river's forces and the folds of the surrounding hills, the building's form traces the same natural logic as the landscape it inhabits. Bamboo groves and native plantings run through the ground-level arches, echoing the region's identity as a habitat for the giant panda.