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Behold, Perkins + Will's Nature-Inspired Museum for Shanghai

All photos by <a href="http://www.steinkampphotography.com/index10.html">Steinkamp Photography</a> via <a href="http://www.designboom.com/architecture/perkins-will-shanghai-natural-history-museum-china-04-24-2015/">Design Boom</a>
All photos by Steinkamp Photography via Design Boom

Nine years in the making, the new Shanghai Natural History Museum finally opened its doors last week, revealing a host of natural inspirations in its architecture. Designed by international firm Perkins+Will, the five-story venue assumes the basic shape of a mollusk shell: the spiraling green-roofed structure curves around a sunken garden and pond, which is shielded by a stone wall that references shifting technic plates. Meanwhile, the inner facade of the building features a complex sunscreen that echoes both cell structure and patterns found in traditional Chinese gardens.

The 480,000-square-foot museum is loaded with exhibition spaces and a 4D theater, housing more than 10,000 artifacts from all seven continents. The building also features a geothermal system where the sunken pond collects rainwater from the vegetated roof and regulates building temperature through evaporative cooling.


· Shanghai's natural history museum by Perkins + Will opens in China [Design Boom]
· All Museums coverage [Curbed National]