Chinese studio Open Architecture has revealed its design for a space museum and experience centre in Yantai, China, which will appear like a mysterious black object in an oceanfront park.
Named Space Crystals, the building will have a glossy black exterior and a faceted stone-like shape that rises at one end to point towards the ocean.
Open Architecture describes the design as "an extraterrestrial-looking object landed mysteriously in the clearing of a seaside park".
▲博物馆将采用黑色琢面外观
The Space Crystals museum will have a faceted black exterior
Back-painted glass will cover half of the external facade, while photovoltaic glass will cover the south-facing facade to generate enough solar to power the building's lighting.
"The manufacturer has calculated that the total output power by the photovoltaic glass, around 2,520 square metres, is 77 kilowatts," Open Architecture founding partner Huang Wenjing told Dezeen.
"Under sunny conditions, this capacity is about enough for the general lighting requirement of the whole building."
▲博物馆中心将有一个 20 米高的中庭
A 20-metre-tall atrium will sit at the centre of the museum
游客将从南侧的悬挑下方空间进入建筑,到达一个 20 米高的中庭,中庭的墙壁切面与建筑外观如出一辙。
中庭将作为展览空间,展示悬挂物品和数字投影,“致力于破解宇宙的奥秘”。
Visitors will enter the building on the south side underneath the rising cantilever, arriving at a 20-metre-high atrium with faceted walls that mirror the appearance of the exterior.
The atrium will be used as an exhibition space displaying hanging objects and digital projections "dedicated to deciphering the mysteries of the universe".
▲室外露台将设在大楼顶层
An outdoor terrace will be located on the top floor of the building
"Light bounces around on the polygonal surfaces, rendering the otherwise monolithic white planes into countless shades of varying grey which subtly changes with the passing time and changing weather," said Open Architecture
A side entrance will provide access to a theatre and cafe when the museum is closed.
The studio designed a ramp encircling the atrium space that will lead to exhibition spaces above, intending to give visitors a sense of gradually exploring the building. The top of the spiral ramp will open onto an outdoor terrace with views of the nearby ocean.
Two polyhedral steel pipe shells will form the external and internal structures, which will be connected by the floor slabs.
With Space Crystals' unique shape, Open Architecture aimed to create a distinctive museum that invites the public inside to learn more about space and the universe.
"The main goal for the Space Crystals design was to create an attractive building – a semi-hidden surprise in the seaside park that arouses the public's interest and draws people in to explore the wonders of the universe through immersive exhibitions," said Huang.
▲室内的刻面墙与室外一模一样
Faceted walls in the interior mimic the exterior
黄文菁补充说:“烟台市是中国第一位女性太空行走者的故乡--当地人对此深感自豪。”
“人们,尤其是老一辈人,一直希望年轻一代能够受到启发和鼓励,去了解和探索宇宙的未知。”
"The city of Yantai is the hometown of the first female Chinese spacewalker – a fact that the locals are very proud of," she added.
"People, especially the older generations, have hoped that the younger generation will be inspired and encouraged to understand and explore the unknowns of the universe."
Space Crystals 计划于 2026 年完工,是open建筑事务所为海滨公园制定的更大总体规划的一部分。即将在烟台建造的下一座建筑是Sea Square(海洋广场),那将是一座位于码头上的方形图书馆兼社区建筑。
Planned to be completed in 2026, Space Crystals is part of Open Architecture's larger master plan for the seaside park. A second building set to be built on the site is Sea Square, a square-shaped library and community building on a dock.
"The two buildings form a dialogue in space and time, one pointing to the sky and the other to the sea, connecting current, past, and future," the studio said.