Guangzhou Science Museum

The Guangzhou Science Museum is part of a newly emerging cluster of cultural institutions, alongside the Guangzhou Museum and a museum of contemporary art. The science museum will play an important role in the future development of this innovative city and its citizens. NorthernLight and the architects of MLA+ were shortlisted to submit their vision of how to offer millions of visitors a cultural centre and further establish Guangzhou as the leading Chinese innovation hub.

We started with an ‘inside-out’ approach, where visitor experiences are developed hand in hand with the architectural planning. For innovation to function, integration in the urban fabric was essential. A public route from a public park runs diagonally through the building, becoming the center’s atrium that serves as entrance hall, distribution space and public display of developments in contemporary science. From this central space the exhibition halls – each featuring a different topic – and the 360 degree cinema can be accessed, allowing for a maximum of flexibility, Transparency and open access. Also the façade draws its inspiration from the traditional Lignan architecture. It is a cast steel abstraction of the old walls made from Oyster shells.