The newly opened Shanghai Natural History Museum, designed by global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will, is rapidly becoming a landmark in Shanghai. Situated in a downtown sculpture park in Jing’an District, the 480,000-square-foot museum brings together art, culture, history, science, environment and architecture in a single destination.
Highlights:
- One of the largest dinosaur displays in the world, featuring Argentinosaurus
- Exhibits that range from the Mamenchisaurus skeleton and a conifer‑cone chandelier to displays representing the African savannah, polar regions and the Tibetan Plateau
- More than 11,000 artifacts representing all seven continents
- Interactive mobile apps that sync with exhibits
- A 4D theater providing immersive educational programs
- An adjacent 323,000-square-foot sculpture park for outdoor exploration
The architecture and landscaping celebrate Chinese cultural history and the relationship between people and nature. The building’s form rises as a spiraling landscaped plane that wraps an oval pond and a 100-foot-tall central atrium—a composition inspired by the nautilus shell, a classic natural geometric form. Natural motifs are integrated across the façades and structural elements:
- The central cell wall evokes the cellular structure of plants and animals.
- The eastern living wall represents Earth’s vegetation and recalls China’s forests.
- The northern stone wall suggests shifting tectonic plates and canyon walls sculpted by river erosion.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and offers exhibit descriptions in English. Its inaugural exhibition, “Miracle of Life,” featuring Chinese paleontological treasures, is on display through March 31, 2017.
Photographs and additional visuals capture the scale and detail of the Shanghai Natural History Museum and its surrounding sculpture park.