Hainan Science Museum Construction Update | Ma Yansong/MAD Architects

Hainan Science Museum, designed by Ma Yansong/MAD Architects, is steadily advancing through its construction phase. The project, which began its design phase in 2020, entered full-scale construction in November 2021 and reached the completion of its main structure in June 2023.

Located on the west coast of Haikou City in Hainan Province, this coastal city is renowned for its warm climate, pristine white-sand beaches, and lush landscapes. Haikou is also the island’s central hub for economy, politics, technology, and culture.

Hainan Science Museum is being built in a new district of the Free-Trade Port, which is surrounded by existing wetlands and new constructions, including a school and a connecting highway. MADs concept for the museum seeks to blend its natural tropical context with its urban surroundings, where technology and science meet nature. The approach seeks to create an open and accessible garden that respect and enhance the natural wetlands.

Built on a 40,000-square-meter site with a total construction area of 46,000 square meters, the science museum features a biomorphic form with fluid, soft shapes, creating a distinctive landmark. Resembling an "updraft," the design mimics the upward movement of warm air from the Earth’s surface. To achieve this flowing and ascending form, the museum's curtain wall is composed of 843 panels of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP). Designed for Hainan's tropical climate, the panels include open seams and water-guiding grooves for effective drainage.

The building's shapes and structure are fully synchronized to avoid wasted space and materials. The core, floor plates and main structure are directly connected with the curved façade, ensuring efficient use of resources. MAD achieved this by integrating circulation and function layout with the building structure, minimizing waste.

The six-story museum includes five above-ground floors of 28,000sqm and one underground level. The ramp ascends like a twisting DNA strand, coiling upwards from the ground floor all the way to the sixth floor through the indoor exhibition space. Sunlight filters down through a glass dome, illuminating the entire atrium and bathing the ramp with natural light.

MADs thoughtful, and reflective design approach includes dedicated areas for younger children, older kids, and adults. MAD's research found that younger children can quickly tire in large museums, so they provided spaces for them on the second and third floors above the canopy and garden. Here parents can take their young children to enjoy indoor learning activities and then spend time in the garden to enjoy the rest of their day.

For the older kids and adults visiting the science museum, the visit starts differently. They take an elevator from the entrance to the sixth floor and then embark on an immersive top-to-bottom journey by descending. A winding ramp encircles the building, offering curated views of the garden on the right and gallery spaces on the left, ensuring an efficient and engaging circulation route that connects multiple levels.

Hainan Science Museum, designed by Ma Yansong/MAD Architects is expected to finish its curtain wall and landscape construction by June this year and open to visitors in 2025.

Hainan Science Museum 2020-2025 Haikou, China Type: Museum

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