Zaha Hadid Architects' futuristic museum resembles an expanding nebulous cloud

A rippling, amorphous form floats over the Jingrong lakeshore in Chengdu’s Pidu District. At once blending in with the undulating mountainous terrain and conspicuous against the natural landscape is the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, designed by London-based Zaha Hadid Architects. Completed within a year, the museum which is part of the Future Science & Technology City (S&T City) in Chengdu, was recently opened to the public. As the architects explain, Chengdu has been instrumental in sustaining science fiction writing in China and the museum is envisaged to showcase the city’s contribution to the genre’s evolution and popularity around the world. The museum marks 15 years since the architects, known for popularizing parametricism as an architectural style, began their foray into China’s architectural landscape. They have previously designed the Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre, the Infinitus Plaza, an office complex in Guangzhou, and the Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre, among many others in the country.

ZHA’s trademark parametric architecture sets the tone for the museum, which feels like it would fit right into a movie like TRON. The architects describe the design for the roof form as ‘an expanding nebula cloud’ with a star at its centre. The fluid silhouette of the roof divides the interior spaces into different zones. The museum is thus transformed into a ‘star cloud’ that disperses energy fields into its many different zones; guiding visitors through a portal that connects [one’s] lived experience with [one’s] imagination.’ If the intention was to provoke the imagination, the interior design with its curvilinear spaces and striking lighting design does just that, if a little conventionally. A central atrium connects the different spaces within the cultural centre, with pedestrian routes that extend from the city through the surrounding landscape into this central space.

The museum design consciously defines nodes of activities that weave through the exhibition galleries, educational facilities, cafes and other amenities in the interior, and outdoor plazas placed at multiple levels. These outdoor public spaces, and the skylight in the naturally-lit, diaphanous atrium allow the design to establish a dialogue with its surroundings, somewhat taking away from the experience of being in a hyper-tech futuristic world as befits a museum of science fiction.

Sprawling across the  59,000 sqm site is a park which surrounds the museum. The landscape and architecture ease into each other. The landscape is designed to enable the collection and storage of rainwater for natural filtration and reuse, ensuring that Jingrong Lake becomes an integral part of Chengdu’s sustainable drainage system. This intervention not only mitigates flooding in the city but also enhances biodiversity. With this ecological approach in mind, the landscape design strategy includes plants that are native to the region. While the clean futuristic aesthetic calls to mind utopian imagination, the architects are conscious of the impact they will have on the environment. Measures to mitigate the building’s ecological footprint include a natural hybrid ventilation system that optimizes Chengdu’s mild subtropical climate to provide comfort for visitors and staff throughout the year. Photovoltaics on the museum’s large roof canopy contribute to meeting the building’s energy demands. These solutions were developed through detailed digital modelling analysis, maximising efficiencies in composition, site conditions, solar irradiation and structure.

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On the design of the museum, the architects say in an official press release “Connecting the past, present and future, the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum will be a centre of inspiration and innovation for the city.”  The complex aims to bring its focus not only on Chengdu as a cultural hub but on the many possibilities of the literary genre. A celebration of everything science fiction, the museum opened by hosting the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and Hugo Awards. There’s much more to science fiction than meets the eye. It is not just about high-tech innovation (conducive to the parametric rhetoric of ZHA), or bleak dystopias. Science fiction is a fiction of dreams and alternate realities. With its trademark approach to design that looks ostensibly futuristic, ZHA’s Chengdu Science Fiction Museum is one of the possible dreams.

Project Details

Project name: Chengdu Science Fiction Museum
Location: Chengdu, China
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Patrik Schumacher
ZHA Project Directors: Satoshi Ohashi, Paulo Flores<
ZHA Project Associate: Yang Jingwen
ZHA Project Architects: Juan Liu, Magda Smolinska
ZHA Project Lead: Sven Torres
ZHA Site Team: Chu Zhou, Shang Li, Lianyuan Ye, Meng Zhao
ZHA Project Team: Andrei-Ciprian Cojocaru, Berkin Islam, Chu Zhou, Hao Wen, Jillian Nishi, Lianyuan Ye, Meng Zhao, Shang Li, Stefan Manousof, Sven Torres, Yang Liu, Yuling Ma, Xiaoying Li
ZHA Competition Project Directors: Satoshi Ohashi, Paulo Flores
ZHA Competition Associate: Yang Jingwen
ZHA Competition Project Architects: Juan Liu, Magda Smolinska
ZHA Competition Team: Andrei-Ciprian Cojocaru, Enoch Kolo, Jillian Nishi, Juan Montiel, Lianyuan Ye, Meng Zhao, Nan Jiang, Nastasja Mitrovic, Stefan Manousof, Yanran Lu, Yimeng Zhao, Yuling Ma
ZHA Competition Sustainability Team: Aleksander Mastalski, Carlos Bausa Martinez
Competition Visuals: Zaha Hadid Architects, ATCHAIN

Consultants:
Local Architect: China South West Architecture Design Institute
Structural Engineers: China South West Architecture Design Institute
General Contractor: China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group
Façade Engineering: China South West Architecture Design Institute
M&E Engineering: China South West Architecture Design Institute
MEP: China South West Architecture Design Institute
Fire Engineer: China South West Architecture Design Institute
Landscape Consultant: Hangzhou Landscape Design Institute
Lighting Design: LIGHTDESIGN, BPI Acoustic Consultant: SIADR
Site Supervision: Sichuan Feihong Engineering Management
Consulting Project Management: CR LAND
Interior Local Design Institute: SIADR
Exhibition Design Consultant: Chengdu Science Fiction Society
Area: 59,000sqm
Year of Completion: 2023