China’s Cloud-shaped Museum by SANAA
Shenzhenmaritime museum located in China made the top-notch architectural studios compete for one winning design. We’re talking entries from none other than UN Studio, Sou Fujimoto architects, and Kengo Kuma and assoc.


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Shenzhenmaritime museum located in China made the top-notch architectural studios compete for one winning design. We’re talking entries from none other than UN Studio, Sou Fujimoto architects, and Kengo Kuma and assoc.
The participants were asked to design bearing in mind that the construction has to put Shenzhen on the map and be the newest landmark. Indeed, the museum holds a lot of value. It does not only bursts with objects and artefacts but also includes a research center and an educational institution. More than 170 entries were made. And 15 only got shortlisted, to finally crown SANAA as the winner.
Although history remembers the winner, the jury had to give an honorable mention to a design envisioned by OPEN Architecture: a cluster of icebergs of various sizes, emerging from the sea.
SANAA’s proposal stood out the most for its seamless blending with the landscape. They took in consideration the highs and lows surrounding the place, like the sea, the mountains and the wetlands, by incorporating them into the design in such a harmonious and arial way. You can walk on water and look up through the open ceiling. You can also see the skies through the rest of the roof because of its low opacity.
The chosen neutral colors, white and grey, are the perfect choice to make the museum’s content pop and to follow the cloud’s puffiness. And the absence of pillars or columns transports visitors into that flowing and open mind space.
- date publishedJune 8, 2021
- categoryArchitecture
- original sourceDesign Boom↗