Straight out of science fiction, it resembles a museum in southwest China that looks like a spaceship from a futuristic movie. This is Chengdu’s “Museum of Science Fiction” which was designed and built in just one year.
From every angle, it will always look different, it will always look unusual or unexpected, says a representative of the famous office Zaha Hadid Architects, which designed the museum.
Perhaps more surprising than the design of the museum itself, is the time it took to build it. The museum was commissioned by the London-based architecture firm in 2022 to host this year’s 81st annual World Science Fiction Convention, dubbed Worldcon. A building of this size and complexity would typically take four to five years to construct, Flores says. But the 59,000 square meter museum – three times the size of the Sydney Opera House – went from concept to completion in just 12 months!
It was built in just one year
Such geometries can only be created using polygonal modeling software, which creates a 3D simulation of the building.
Just two weeks after the company won the tender, construction began on the project. Using the above software and other digital tools, this architectural firm was able to accelerate the schedule and ensure that everyone from the architects to the material manufacturers and construction workers were perfectly coordinated.
Analysis with digital modeling allowed the team to optimize the building’s structure for Chengdu’s climate By analyzing weather and environmental parameters, the software determined decisions about the size and angle of the roof overhang to protect interior spaces from direct sunlight.
Green technology
Green technology was also used to minimize the building’s operational impact, with solar panels integrated into the expansive roof to help provide electricity, as well as skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows to reduce the need for artificial light during of the day.
Chengdu, already home to more than 20 million residents – and growing – has expanded rapidly in recent decades. The Science Fiction Museum is part of a larger area outside the city called Chengdu Future Science and Technology City. This 4.6 square kilometer ‘city of the future’ will house several new universities, laboratories and offices.
