Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi's firm Bernard Tschumi Architects has completed the Tianjin Exploratorium, composed of large-scale cones that propose different spatial discovery throughout the museum.

The 33,000-square-meter musem is situated next to MVRDV's Tianjin Binhai Public Library, which were all developed as part of the Binhai Cultural Center masterplan, designed by GMP,  alongside two other cultural buildings. The museum is the office’s first large-scale, built architectural project in China.

Designed in 2013-2014,  the building, located in Tianjin, was recently completed. The Exploratorium showcases artifacts from Tianjin’s industrial past through large-scale contemporary technology, including spectacular rockets for space research. The project also contains facilities for cultural events and exhibitions as well as galleries, offices, and restaurant and retail spaces.

Bernard Tschumi Architects designed the Exploratorium to relate to the rich industrial history of the area, the site of high-volume manufacturing and research. A series of large-scale cones creates major rooms throughout the museum. 

The central cone, lit from above, connects all three levels of the Exploratorium. A spiralling ramp ascends to the top level, offering an unusual spatial experience of the modern vertical city by reinterpreting an ancient industrial typology. The roof is accessible to visitors and acts as a promenade with striking views over the surrounding city.

"The Exploratorium is designed as a building for the past, the present, and the future of Tianjin," said Bernard Tschumi.

The focal point of the exhibition complex is the grand lobby or cone that provides access to all public parts of the program. This immense cone—almost double the height of the Guggenheim Museum—connects to all surrounding spaces and allows visitors to spiral through the large exhibition halls stacked on each end of the building, past view portholes and lightwells that give each hall an individual character and configuration. 

Grand, triple-height spaces define the main circulation, while a constellation of lights and circular lightwells give the space an other-worldly feel. The perforated aluminium facade gives a unified presence to the building, despite its large size and the disparate elements of the program.

The cones provide even, natural light to gallery spaces and reduce the energy loads required for artificial lighting. Their tapered forms also concentrate warm air, which can then be channelled out of the building in summer or back into the galleries in winter. 

Glazing surfaces are minimized except when desired for program. The perforated metal panels of the facade help reduce heat gain. The central, large atrium acts as a solar chimney, drawing up hot air and replacing it with cool air from below in a constant airstream.

The Exploratorium has been designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects in collaboration with Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI). 

Project facts

Client: Tianjin Binhai Municipality
Architect: Bernard Tschumi Architects
Lead designer: Bernard Tschumi.
Key personnel: Joel Rutten, Nianlai Zhong, Christopher Lee, Pierre-Yves Kuhn, Jerome Haferd, Bart-Jan Polman, Dora Felekou, Pedro Camara, Shayi Liang, Nate Oppenheim, Kate Scott, Clinton Peterson, Olga Jitariouk, Sung Yu
Local architect and engineer: Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI)

All images © Kris Provoost

All drawings © Bernard Tschumi Architects

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