Hainan Science Museum will open to visitors in 2025

Serra Utkum IkizMay 29, 20241 Mins read136

Hainan Science Museum will open to visitors in 2025

Hainan Science Museum, designed by Ma Yansong/MAD Architects, features a biomorphic form that mimics the upward movement of warm air

Located on the west coast of China’s Haikou City in Hainan Province, the Hainan Science Museum, designed by Ma Yansong/MAD Architects, completed its main structure in June 2023 and will open to visitors in 2025.

“A science museum is about education and imagining the future; we want nature to be part of that vision as well,” said Ma Yansong.

The museum is presently being built in a new Free-Trade Port neighborhood. The museum’s concept is to combine the metropolitan surroundings, where science and technology collide with the natural tropical setting.

Hainan Science Museum's exterior is composed of 843 pieces of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic. — Hainan Science Museum will open to visitors in 2025

Hainan Science Museum's exterior is composed of 843 pieces of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, designed with open seams and water-guiding grooves for effective drainage. — Hainan Science Museum will open to visitors in 2025

curved façade directly connecting to the core and floor plates

The Hainan Science Museum, a landmark, is built on a 40,000-square-meter plot of land with a 46,000-square-meter overall building area. Its biomorphic form has gentle, flowing curves. The curved façade is physically attached to the main structure, floor plates, and core.

The museum’s curtain wall was created using 843 pieces of fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP). This flowing and climbing structure divides the six-story museum into one basement level and five 28,000-square-meter above-ground floors.

The museum’s design includes areas for different age groups, especially children. MAD Architects designed space for younger people on the second and third floors above the canopy and garden. Here, parents can teach their children to enjoy indoor learning activities.

The structure of Hainan Science Museum harmonizes with the surrounding wetlands and urban developments, creating an accessible garden.

Project Info

Building Area: 46,528 square meters
Above Ground: 27,782 square meters
Underground: 18,746 square meters
Principal Partners: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners: Fu Changrui, Kin Li, Tiffany Dahlen
Design Team: Wang Yiding, Dayie Wu, Yin Jianfeng, Sun Feifei, Reem Mosleh, Pan Siyi, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Anri Gyuloyan, Chen Yi Wen, Rozita Kashirtseva, Wu Qiaoling, Zheng Chengwen, Feng Yingying, Zhu Yuhao, Edgar Navarrete, Yang Xuebing
Client: Haikou Association for Science and Technology
Project Management: Haikou Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd.
Architectural Design: MAD Architects
Executive Architect: CCDI
Facade Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Landscape Consultant: EADG
Interior Design: MAD Architects, CCDI
Lighting Consultant: Ning Field Lighting Design Corp., Ltd.
Signage Consultant: CCDI
Exhibition Consultant: Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.
Construction: China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd
Aerial Photography: China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd

Written by

Serra Utkum Ikiz

Serra, former managing editor at Parametric Architecture, is based between Istanbul and London and has a background in urban planning and sociology. She is passionate about researching and discussing cities, with a particular love for writing on urbanism, politics, and emerging design trends.