Guangdong Science Center

The Guangdong Science Center aims to express the spirit of science. The design optimizes its extraordinary site at a pivotal place within the regional geography – the confluence of waterways visible from many surrounding shores. The complex is organized into three sections. The first, a crescent-shaped, land-based building, serves as the gateway to the project and contains the International Conference Center and the administrative and operational wings. Its roofs are carpeted with plants and form a wavelike curve that echoes the surrounding agricultural landscape. The second section is a curvilinear, double helix–inspired building featuring spiraling ramps that traverse a series of galleries, each of which provides access to multilevel exhibits. The third cluster of spaces comprises a series of exhibition pods formed by a grouping of convex inverted domes, which provide efficient, column-free space. These pods create ‘molecular clusters’ dedicated to diverse themes in science. When it rains, the roofs drain to their centers, forming a waterfall in the middle of each hall, a living demonstration of the energy unlocked by nature’s processes.